CBYX: Celebrating 25 Years of Exchange

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CELEBRATING

YEARS OF EXCHANGE

Dear Friends For the past 25 years, young people from the United States and Germany have had the opportunity to spend one year in each other’s respective countries – studying, working, and experiencing everyday life– through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. The CongressBundestag Youth Exchange was conceived by the United States Congress and the German Parliament (Bundestag) in 1983 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of German settlers in America, and is funded in the United States by the U.S. Department of State and in Germany by the German Bundestag. No other such program, actively supported by the electoral bodies of the two governments, and providing a direct, reciprocal exchange, currently exists in the U.S. or Germany, emphasizing the continued importance of German-American relations 25 years on. The cultural immersion experience that CBYX for Young Professionals provides its participants is unmatched, and has proven to positively impact many aspects of participants’ personal and professional development, not only during their year in Germany, but for years and decades to follow.

We have collected here a retrospective of the stories of past participants over the 25 years, each of whom has had a unique cbyx experience in Germany, and each of whose lives has been equally, though always differently, changed by this program. The common thread that runs through all their divergent professional interests, career paths, and personal lives is the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals—an experience of German culture from within, living firsthand its language, higher education system, workplace, and home life.

These divergent threads, shared by over 3,000 past German and American participants, collectively form the cbyx Alumni Network, which seeks to keep participants’ ties to Germany strong, and to keep their cbyx experiences alive. As the Alumni Network continues to reconnect alumni and lets them reflect on their cbyx experience, it also provides an outlet through which participants can become involved in the program again. Many alumni have come full circle, helping to recruit applicants for future years of the program, interviewing candidates throughout the U.S., and even hosting young professionals from Germany in their own homes.

A recent survey of cbyx for Young Professionals alumni revealed that the most impacting aspect of the program on their subsequent careers was the opportunity to work in their career field in Germany, highlighting one of the most unique parts of this program: gaining hands-on experience through internships in the German working world that most study-abroad and exchange programs do not provide. Likewise, 95% of all participating alumni said that their cbyx experience has had a positive impact on their subsequent career. Perhaps the most telling answer given in the survey was to the question “Is the cbyx program still relevant today, and should this program continue to exist?”

Every one of the participating alumni answered “yes”.

Since 1984, the program has continued to play a strong role in the lives of its alumni and in GermanAmerican relations as a whole. cbyx for Young Professionals keeps personal, business, and cultural ties between the United States and Germany strong, and it is our hope that the small sampling of testimonials contained in this brochure will reveal the diversity of positive experiences of each individual participant, as well as the lasting impact that the program has had on the subsequent careers of its alumni.

Celebrating 25 Years of Exchange is an affirmation of the importance and relevance of this program a quarter-century after its beginnings, and reminds us why the cbyx for Young Professionals program will remain a cornerstone of public diplomacy for the United States and Germany for years to come.

Anna Oberle, Program Director

Will Maier Assistant Program Officer & Alumni Coordinator

The common thread that runs through all their divergent professional interests, career paths, and personal lives is the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals —an experience of German culture from within, living firsthand its language, higher education system, workplace, and home life.

Liebe Freunde 25 Jahre im Rückblick auf ein Leben sind eine lange Zeit, aber wenn man erst 25 Jahre alt ist, hat man noch Träume und Ziele, die es zu verwirklichen gilt.

25 Jahre cbyx/ppp für junge Berufstätige ist eine Bestätigung dafür, dass die Vision der Gründungsväter im Jahr 1983, junge Menschen auf beiden Seiten des Atlantiks als Botschafter ihres Landes und ihrer Generation zu entsenden, bis heute Bestand hat und transatlantische Netzwerke mit gegenseitigem Verständnis für die Position des anderen Landes sowohl in politischer wie auch in gesellschaftlicher Hinsicht geknüpft wurden.

25 Jahre cbyx/ppp bedeutet auch 3.800 Lebenswege, die durch den Auslandsaufenthalt in neue vorher nicht bedachte Richtungen führten. Mittlerweile sind die Teilnehmer und Teilnehmerinnen der ersten Jahrgänge über 40 Jahre alt und immer noch überzeugte Vertreter des Austauschgedankens. Die Träume und Ziele, die sie damals hatten, haben die heute 18 - 24jährigen auch immer noch. Ben Durtschi, ein amerikanischer Teilnehmer, drückt dies stellvertretend für viele seiner Generation so aus: „We at times may be different but much of the time we are so very similar. As human beings we all have the same hopes, desires, fears and goals. This year in Germany taught me self-reliance, proactiveness, self-mastery and hard work. It’s programs like this that teach people the lessons of life early on; the time when they are needed the most.“ In der heutigen Zeit ist ein Programm wie das cbyx/ppp umso wertvoller in einer Welt, die durch das Internet und andere Medien transparent und öffentlich für jeden zu sein scheint. Es sind jedoch die persönlichen Begegnungen, die Lebenserfahrungen im anderen Land, die zum besseren Verständnis beider Nationen beitragen und somit die deutschamerikanischen Beziehungen dauerhaft vertiefen.

Theo Fuß, Program Director America Division, PPP, InWEnt Bonn

Ute Gabriel, Assistant Program Director America Division, PPP, InWEnt Bonn

In der heutigen Zeit ist ein Programm wie das cbyx/ppp umso wertvoller in einer Welt, die durch das Internet und andere Medien transparent und öffentlich für jeden zu sein scheint. Es sind jedoch die persönlichen Begegnungen, die Lebenserfahrungen im anderen Land, die zum besseren Verständnis beider Nationen beitragen und somit die deutsch-amerikanischen Beziehungen dauerhaft vertiefen.

Harmon Kong 1st cbyx, 1984-85 chief wealth manager, iwamoto kong us university california state university, sacramento current hometown irvine, ca german university universität osnabrück german town(s) osnabrück german internship stadtsparkasse osnabrück

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was fortunate to participate in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals program to Germany in 1984, at which point I knew very little about Germany and could not even say just a few words in German. Little did I know that my year in Germany would mark one of the most cherished memories in my life! I can still remember others asking me why a finance major would want to spend a year abroad in a place I knew so little about and didn’t speak the language. I certainly had my second thoughts, and in my youthfulness back then perceived a year as a long time to be away from school, family, and friends.

My CBYX year turned out to be one of the best opportunities available to grow personally and professionally. Living abroad took me out of my comfort zone, and for this reason I was able to understand myself better and become more confident and personable.

My stay in Germany consisted of living with two really great host families, both of whom were extremely hospitable and eagerly friendly.

To this day, 24 years later, I still keep in touch with them, and my second host family even came to visit me just a few years ago in California. It was a great opportunity for me to return the hospitality to them after caring for me for so long. The best part of my CBYX experience has been that I still keep in contact with my hosts families and some fellow American participants from that year, relationships that are a significant part of my life today.

I am now a partner in private wealth-management company, and married with four children. Just this year, our family hosted an elementary school exchange student from France. It was a great opportunity for my children to interact with a foreign student. My eldest son, who is now 12 years old, will have an opportunity to visit France next year as a short-term exchange with the French student that stayed with us. My hope is that all my children will participate in a foreign exchange program as a part of their overall educational experience. I would highly recommend the CBYX program to anyone without hesitation. It is a great experience filled with new friendships and wonderful memories.

John Marum 2nd cbyx, 1985-86 distinguished member of technical staff, motorola us university rose hulman institute of technology current hometown oakland, ca german university fachhochschule für technik german town(s) mannheim german internship bbc mannheim

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was a participant in CBYX during 1985-86. I spent the first 2 months in language training in Radolfzell, a quaint, small resort-like village on Lake Constance, bordering Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Although I had studied languages in the US before, the method of language instruction used at the school was very different. For one thing,

and specify components manufactured in Germany, requiring reading data sheets in German. We also export to German customers, such as the Bundesbahn and Deutsche Telekom, sometimes requiring me to read or write correspondence using my German skills.

Perhaps the way that the CBYX program has affected my life most is the one that is the most subtle: a different way of viewing the world.

Only through experiencing another culture firsthand and living outside the US can one view our own culture, government, and influence in the world from the outside in. While I was living in Germany I had many discussions about the American way of life and US foreign policy. In many of these discussions I had to either explain or defend US attitudes or policies, which in turn forced me to rethink how I myself viewed them.

only German was spoken in class. The instruction was given in German and use of English-German dictionaries was strongly discouraged. The class was attended by students from all over the globe, and the only way to communicate with most was with German. Being a small town without a lot of foreign tourists, there was not much English spoken in town either, so we needed to speak German nearly all the time. This immersion in the language meant we learned much faster, without the safety net of switching back to English when we got stuck. From then on I realized how total immersion in a language is the best way to learn.

After language school I moved to Mannheim, where I lived with a law student while attending a technical school. To me, the German school system, with its multiple paths for different careers, seems better suited to the wide range of abilities then our system in the US, where everyone is thrown together. While the USA has one the best university systems in the world, many acknowledge that our primary and especially secondary education systems are lacking. By seeing and experiencing a different system, I feel better informed in the debate on how to fix the schools in the US. After my return from Germany I continued to follow news from Germany. I enrolled in a conversational German class while attending grad school to try to keep my language skills sharp. At graduation time I applied at and interviewed with a German company for a position in Germany (I did not take it). As my career continued I met several engineers from Germany who at one time or other were working in the states, and I remain in contact with two of them to this day. I also occasionally encounter documents in German in my current position as an electrical engineer, as Germany remains a leader in electrical products and testing. For example, we certify some of our designs through TÜV

Denise Jacoby 3rd cbyx, 1986-87 senior account executive, business markets group, qwest communications us university chapman university current hometown colorado springs, co german university freie universität german town(s) berlin german internship amerika haus

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hat an amazing opportunity I had on the CBYX for Young Professionals program in 1986-1987 – an opportunity that really made me the person I am today. Sure, back then, I had hoped to work in Germany – even Berlin – and never imagined that my life would NOT include some type of international work. Unfortunately, Sacramento, CA (my hometown) was not the international hub I had hoped. Instead, I went on to work in telecommunications for a Fortune 100 company – living in Phoenix, San Diego and Denver. I left briefly to pursue a career in Commercial Interior Design – then returned back to the larger paycheck I had come to know and love.

CBYX created in me a passion for “all things German”; I seek out German people like some people sniff out chocolate. I have a wonderful group of German ladies I am good friends with – and they tell me that aside from my accent, they often forget I am American. I still read and speak the language pretty fluently (thanks to these women and their friendship, although recipes often require a quick phone call to the “girls”). I’m also friends with a German couple I

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1. Harmon Kong today; 2. John Marum (right) ca. 1985-86; 3. Denise Jacoby today and ca. 1986-87 (center); 4. Silvia Ascarelli today.

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with a participant I hosted for a few days, Jakob. It was a challenge for me in the beginning – hosting someone who had never been to America but was also part of a program I hold so dearly. We worked through it and I can’t imagine never being in contact with Domi – we frequently write letters and emails. Once Colorado Springs can figure out how to sponsor a student with minimal cost to CBYX, I hope to host again soon.

CBYX is responsible for my passion for travel. Of course, I still stick with the German speaking countries and was able to spend 3 weeks in 2004 back in southern Germany. I visited Radolfzell (where I went through language training) and Konstanz (where fellow CBYX alumna Teresa Bekker and I drank many coffees!) and drove along the Bodensee – seeing many of those cities through new eyes.

CBYX has also given me the gift of compassion. Whenever I encounter a foreign speaker – one who is cautious with their words – I am brought back to my times speaking a new language. I will reassure the person that I don’t need them to feel rushed and together we can solve the language barrier. I love asking people about their countries, their customs and what they love about their new home. I’ve made so many interesting friends that way.

Thank you CBYX for the opportunities you gave me back in the 80’s as a student, and again in 2006 as a host parent.

Silvia Ascarelli 4th cbyx, 1987-88 news editor, wall street journal us university university of missouri current hometown princeton junction, nj german university freie universität german town(s) berlin, duisburg german internship Berliner Morgenpost, Presseabteilung der Berliner Regierung, USIA Berlin, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

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y year in Germany on the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals changed my life.

When I was accepted by the CBYX program in 1987, I was a reporter for a newspaper outside New York, writing about local events.

During my CBYX year spent in Radolfzell, West Berlin, and Duisburg, I improved my German tremendously and wrote newspaper articles in German – which helped impress an editor looking for a reporter to send to

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The experience of living in divided Berlin–and crossing

Checkpoint Charlie almost every day–is unforgettable.

met back in 1987 – we visit each other every few years and now that their oldest child is a teenager, we are making plans for her to live with me for a semester of high school so that she too can be exposed to the enlightenment that comes from living abroad.

CBYX opened my eyes to the absolute joys of hosting – both short term and long term. I am still in contact with Dominike, a German CBYX participant I hosted during the 22nd program year in 2005-2006, and

Frankfurt to write about the German bond market and the German central bank, the Bundesbank. I landed that job just a week after we returned from Germany, after a college friend was asked by the editor if he could recommend anyone who spoke German.

I had mixed feelings about going back to Europe so quickly and vowed at Kennedy Airport to work the two years I had promised before moving back to the US in time for Christmas 1990. Instead, I stayed in

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I speak on the phone with colleagues in Germany several times a week, and my position requires annual travel to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt until September 1997, when my company moved me to London.

I stayed there until February 2005, when I was transferred to the US. If you had told me in the summer of 1987 that I would spend the next 171/2 years of my life in Europe, I would have scoffed.

My time abroad is the reason I have the job I have today: helping to put together the Money & Investing sections for The Wall Street Journal’s Asian and European editions.

The experience of living in divided Berlin–and crossing Checkpoint Charlie almost every day for a month for one of my jobs–is unforgettable.

I am still in touch with both my host families (in Berlin and Duisburg) and with a German friend I made that year as well as many friends from my Frankfurt years. My Frankfurt office later hired two CBYX participants (and one says we changed her life too).

Of course, the year had plenty of downs as well as ups—any year abroad does. But it’s that combination of family, school, and work experience that sets the CBYX for Young Professionals program apart and makes it so valuable. It meant enough to many of us that we have organized 20th anniversary reunions for both 2007 and 2008, and about half of our group will have attended at least one of them.

George Buckley 4th cbyx, 1987-88 vp-information security, commerzbank ny us university college of william and mary current hometown new york, ny german university universität des saarlandes german town(s) saarbrücken german internship commerzbank

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hortly before I graduated from the College of William and Mary, I was accepted to the 4th Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. I knew that I wanted to do something with my 8 years of German, but I had no prospects. For me, CBYX provided a valuable transition year of travel, study, and work.

While my peers in the USA faced the Crash of 1987, I was in a strange land but had a year of ‘job security.’ I attended language school in Radolfzell am Bodensee for two months and then moved to Saarbrücken for the university phase and the practical work experience.

For a number of reasons, the calm village of Radolfzell was a great place to start a year abroad — proximity to Switzerland, slower pace, comfortable living arrangements. Nonetheless, I was unimpressed by the public transport options, and three weeks into the program I bought a car. The cheapest car in Germany lasted me a year – 15000 km with only four or five breakdowns (I refer to the car). Friends and I traveled much of the continent west of the Iron Curtain. At the end

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common language for communication.

In October, I moved from Radolfzell to Munich, where I lived with the lovely Boethius family. Since there was now just one other fellow participant in Munich, we were now even more immersed in the German culture than we had been during our time in Radolfzell. I attended the Technische Fachhochschule to attend classes in electrical engineering, and made the most of my time in this ageless metropolis by visiting every museum (and beerhall) that I could find.

With January came a new year (1989) and yet more new experiences. I headed to our mid-year seminar in Berlin, at which point 1. George Buckley (right) today with his wife, and with a friend ca. 1987-88; 2. Steve Della Lana ca.

1989-90, and Della Lana today; 3. Jason Poulos today, and ca. 1989 (right); 4. Andrew Snyder today, and ca. 1988-89 (left) with his Grandfather in Germany.

of the program, I drove to the village from which my grandmother’s grandmother emigrated in 1854 and found some living relatives.

Since then I have kept up the connection, and I visited the uncles twice in 2007. Finally, after having worked for a Commerzbank subsidiary in Saarbrücken, I got a job at Commerzbank New York in 1988 and I am working there still. The experience sharpened my German skills and pointed me in the direction of a career. Nowadays, I speak on the phone with colleagues in Germany several times a week, and my position requires annual travel to Frankfurt. I am still in touch with colleagues from my internship in Saarbrücken, as well as with my uncles and a few friends.

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Andrew Snyder 5th cbyx, 1988-89 manager, ebusiness infrastructure, hsbc us university county college of morris current hometown jersey city, nj german university technische fachhochschule german town(s) munich german internship siemens

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will always remember the elation I felt when I first learned that I had been accepted as a participant for the fifth Congress-Bundestag Exchange for Young Professionals in the spring of 1988. I was 20 years old at the time, had never flown in an airplane, and my life was about to change dramatically in many positive and unknown ways.

Although I thought that I had felt confident with my German language skills prior to arrival, the first day in Frankfurt humbled me, both with the native speakers’ rate of speech and some intermixed dialectic verbiage. A note to self was taken about the importance of the two months of intense German language classes I was about to start in Radolfzell. My time there was idyllic, with the days spent focusing on learning German grammar and language, and the evenings and weekends spent socializing and exploring the new environs and making new friends from a variety of countries who were also taking courses at the language school. The mutually international setting was a fantastic opportunity to meet even more Europeans from yet other cultures, often with German as our

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the Wall was still standing and in full enforcement. I then moved to Karlsruhe, to start a half-year long internship with Siemens. I learned the German work ethic during this tenure, and was included in-depth on a small team that provided programming support for Siemens internal Unix-based electronic CAD system. I also took advantage of the comparatively generous vacation policy that was provided in order to experience other exciting points across Europe!

All-in-all, I am a better and more open-minded person for my participation in the CBYX for Young Professionals program, and I would recommend this or a similar undertaking to every young person either before or during their university years. After the program I continued my studies in the U.S., and became involved with my college’s international students club, to maintain my desire to learn about foreign cultures and continue to make new and interesting friends. It was there that I met the woman who would become my wife, Jutta Gaßner, a native of Braz, Austria. I must admit that we spoke almost only English with each other here in New Jersey until the birth of our daughter Kayla in June 2007; we now speak only German at home, so that Kayla will be raised bilingually. Both Jutta and Kayla are dual US-EU citizens, leaving me as the token American in our home. I look forward to our next family visit to Austria in the fall of 2008; the journey continues!

Steve Della Lana 6th cbyx, 1989-90 instructor of german, college of charleston us university rutgers university current hometown charleston, sc german university universität erlangen german town(s) nürnberg german internship lehrinstitut frischmann kg

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y life has been profoundly impacted by having participated in CBYX for Young Professionals. It inspired me to become a German instructor at the College of Charleston, which has

afforded me an amazing and unique opportunity to bring the program full circle to a new generation. Constantly, on a daily basis, I draw on my experiences in Germany both in the classroom and through advising students of internship and other professional opportunities with German language and culture. Friends I met on my year as a CBYX participant are guest speakers in my Business German and Contemporary German Issues classes, some of my students have even visited these friends, one even worked with one family as an au pair for half a year. During the 6th CBYX program year, I experienced firsthand the fall of the Berlin Wall and later German reunification and am able to make these experiences through newspaper clippings and pictures at the time very real (including my throwing files at the window of the Stasi headquarters in East Berlin in January 1990!).

Through the College of Charleston’s Summer Internship Program in Germany, which I helped found in 2002, I am able to return to Germany to conduct visitations with my students, meet their employers, and share their own firsthand experiences in Germany as they are currently experiencing them. With the increasing emphasis to more adequately prepare students linguistically and culturally for the global marketplace, our relationship with CDS International was one factor in the College of Charleston’s designation for commendation of excellence by the Council of Higher Education. The students returning from Germany mention how much their participation in the program has helped them gain valuable insight into a career, and are amazed how quickly their German language skills improved. The students are all eager to tell their classmates about their experiences.

Stateside, I maintain close contact with a fellow CBYX alumna from our exchange year, whom has interviewed prospective CBYX participants, and I have hosted German CBYX participants several years in Charleston as part of the Home Stay Tours. I feel like I could be the “poster child” for CDS International as my circle of friends and career in a very real way revolve around my having been a CBYX participant. As I begin to think about estate planning, CDS will certainly be a part of this!

Jason Poulos 6th cbyx, 1989-90 senior counsel, litigation, georgia-pacific, llc us university georgia state university current hometown atlanta, ga german university universität mannheim german town(s) mannheim, cologne german internship koelnische rueckversicherungs-gesellschaft ag

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was a participant in the CBYX program during 1989-1990. I lived in Cologne for the first three months of intensive language training, Mannheim for my approximate three-month university visit, and back again in Cologne for my internship period with the Kölnische Rückversicherungsgesellschaft. My experience in Germany naturally had a profound effect on me at the time I was living there, but it still does even more so today.

Indeed, I count having been awarded that scholarship as one of the most important milestones in my life, and I have strived since that time to maintain my contact and association with the German-speaking world, both professionally and personally. Setting aside the opening of new horizons in my mind and spirit that accompanied the year-long stay the first time, I have returned to Germany (and Austria) since on several occasions, for purposes ranging from attending my best friend’s wedding (the friendship

having been formed during my CBYX trip), to business trips including accompanying and preparing my client’s witnesses for testimony in a Viennese trial court, and attending meetings with my client’s employees in Germany.

The tools I acquired in study before and during my CBYX trip, and my on-going efforts to maintain fluency in its aftermath, are certainly valuable for an attorney practicing in international circles. But beyond that, and perhaps even more important, I continually strive to bolster my knowledge and interest in the cultures of the Germanspeaking countries, and this has broadened my life well beyond the physical and mental borders of everyday life. The reasons for such effort, not least among which is an attempt not to squander what I received during my CBYX scholarship, are many, but I wish to express my extreme appreciation to all of those who contributed to my opportunity.

When I discuss college and career with younger people these days, I invariably recommend that they do whatever it takes to create for themselves an opportunity to spend a stint somewhere abroad as they seek to learn the ways of life and the world. Of course, I could not recommend a better place than Germany, nor a better program than CBYX.

when considering connections, the world is very small indeed. I hope I am able to give as much back to CBYX and international relations as the program has given to me.

Ellin Iselin

Carr Kaufmann

7th cbyx, 1990-91 instructor, florida community college at jacksonville us university hanover college current hometown jacksonville, fl german university ludwig-maximilians-universität german town(s) munich german internship tele 5 - kmp

8th cbyx, 1991-92 director of asset management, rb managemet services us university clemson university current hometown atlanta, ga german university fh reutlingen german town(s) reutlingen, wolfsburg german internship volkswagen ag

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daptability and friends: these are two words that come to mind when thinking about how my experience in Germany affected my life overall, and of course these same elements are necessary in any career. Looking back, I see not only what 18 years has meant to my life and perspective, I clearly see the changes in Germany. In 1990-91 Germany was reunifying; the Berlin Wall went from being a symbol of oppression, tragedy and division to an inspiration of freedom, hope and healing.

My CBYX experience has most certainly influenced where I am today. In fact, I can easily retrace the path. Upon returning from Germany in the summer of 1991, I decided I wanted to do whatever it took to return to Europe on another CDS program. A desire to apply for the Robert Bosch Foundation led me to pursue my master’s degree.

In December of 1991, I was offered a job as a TV producer in Tulsa, Oklahoma where I was living. The timing was perfect because I had just recently completed my internship in television production at Tele 5 in Munich. The master’s degree was put on hold for a few years, but in 1994, I enrolled at the University of Oklahoma and graduated four years later with a master’s degree in liberal studies.

Although I was never accepted into the Robert Bosch Foundation, I am most thankful for the inspiration to continue my graduate education. Today, I am an instructor of humanities and writing at local colleges and universities, and I am pursuing a PhD in classical civilization at the University of North Florida. As I head toward my dissertation, I intend to take a close look at the Germanic influence on the Roman Empire.

I still keep in touch with my friends from Germany. It is true that

able to relate equally well with hourly laborers, entrepreneurial investors, foreign investors, and with CEOs of large institutions.

My CBYX experience opened for me an array of opportunities that have changed my view of the world and the way I interact with others. I have learned to question everything and look at every angle of an issue. For all of these reasons, I am a better person, and forever grateful to have benefited from such a worthy experience.

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Through my exchange experience, I developed the confidence to try new things, take chances, and accept challenges.

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8th cbyx, 1991-92 freelance writer us university northwestern university current hometown hingham, ma german university universität bremen german town(s) bremen german internship erno raumfahrttechnik gmbh

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1. Ellin Iselin ca. 1990-91, and with her family today; 2. Carr Kaufmann today, and ca. 1991-92; 3. Sara Mason (left) today with her German Host Parents, and (center) ca. 1991-92.

arrived in Germany tired from the overnight flight with two black eyes, my broken right arm in a full cast, and cuts all over my body. I was beginning my year-long stay in Germany after being mugged and beaten in Atlanta two days before my departure.

I knew only a few words of German and needed help with everything as I could not even carry my own luggage. After hearing about the coldness of the German people, I was beyond worried. Secretly, my bitterness toward my attackers – who were not apprehended – plagued my thoughts. Yet my physical condition turned out to be an ice-breaker and conversation-starter! Instead of learning how to exchange pleasantries in German, my first German words were more like, “I was mugged and beaten by three men with a pistol”.

Since those beginnings–thanks to my CBYX exchange experience– much has changed. In that year, I learned to speak German fluently. I developed a passion for travel. Most importantly, I learned to view others, especially those of different cultures, with compassion, curiosity, and patience. Diversity in all its forms–of thought, of perspectives on life, in languages and cultures–is an essential part of who we are. Thanks to my exchange experience, I embrace diversity. And those supposedly cold Germans turned out to be sincere, trustworthy, life-long friends who still evoke tears when we have to say goodbye after one of our cherished visits.

Through my exchange experience, I developed the confidence to try new things, take chances, and accept challenges, for the rewards of success are immeasurable. After returning to the U.S., I was able to translate this attitude into greater involvement in extracurricular activities at my university and then later into a successful career.

My work in management and construction of commercial real estate exposes me to people of vastly different backgrounds. I am

Sara Mason

bout 17 years have passed since I participated in the CongressBundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals, and I look back at the year I spent in Germany as a bridge year between my formal education and the start of my career. That year provided me with an invaluable extension of learning, as well as a chance to try out my skills in the working world.

In the first few months of the program, I remember how it felt to immerse myself in learning German. This was a much different experience than studying German in the classroom and through books as I had done in high school and college. The best way to learn another language is to live it as we did through the program. I made great progress and I remember Germans complimenting my language abilities throughout the year. I felt great about that and although I don’t now speak German in my daily life, I have a solid foundation that I can revisit someday.

Professionally, my public relations internship with Deutsche Aerospace allowed me my first glimpse into PR for a large multinational company.

That experience helped me realize that I preferred to focus on my core skill of journalism, which had been my college major and has been the central focus of my 15-year career.

My year in Germany also helped me develop networking skills, both with Americans and international colleagues, which also aided my career.

Moreover, I believe that the year I spent in Germany distinguished my application for an elite graduate program. My master’s degree in International Relations has also been invaluable. With my background, I have had opportunities in my career to travel and do research in Germany.

In the personal realm, I learned and grew in immeasurable ways by being on my own (with the support of the program) in an international environment for that year. I also made lifelong friends with program participants and with my host parents, who recently came to visit me and met my children. I have always been grateful for my opportunity on CBYX and I hope many others have the chance to benefit from this program as I have.

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Steve McConnell 8th cbyx, 1991-92 human resources, retail associate relations specialist, publix supermarkets, inc. us university kennesaw state university current hometown kennesaw, ga german university fh münster german town(s) telgte, düsseldorf german internship markt und meinung gmbh

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was a participant in the 1991-1992 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals in Germany. I had a unique experience, in that my family hosted both a CBYX participant plus a student who funded his own trip the year before I went to Germany, and I wound up living with both of those students’ families during my time in Germany.

Those relationships, in addition to my internship, helped me to get truly immersed in German everyday life.

When I returned to the States, I came back to the business I was in before I left – retail groceries. I have since progressed to where I am now working in the Human Resources department of a major regional retailer, providing advice, coaching, and training to hundreds of managers. One of the key areas on which we focus is communications. My year in Germany challenged me to be able to communicate in another language and culture, with people whose history, experience, and outlook could be quite different than my own. I feel I did 1

Andrew Dowd

well at it, although I know my experience probably only scratched the surface of what there was to achieve. Since the company I work for employs associates from countries all around the world, I feel that my experience enabled me to assist managers who may be facing the same cross-cultural communication issues I encountered, be able to communicate effectively with their associates.

Personally, I can’t begin to list the effects the program has had. I made some lifelong friends in Germany, and we keep up with one another and try to visit whenever we can. I will actually be seeing one of my friends very soon, and we will now be able to introduce each other to our respective spouses and children. Another one of my friends was able to be in my wedding a few years ago. My “Oma” still calls me on my birthday, and I took my family to Germany to visit her and some friends in 2005. I have an open invitation at another family’s home, and I think they mean it when they say they have an extra pair of house shoes waiting just for me.

Since my return, I have tried to remain involved with CBYX by working with German students in my region as a mentor, working with American CBYX students preparing to go on their program, serving as an area representative for the program, and, together with my wife, hosting a student of our own a few years ago.

The CBYX for Young Professionals experience is life-changing! I had no idea the personal and professional effects my year in Germany would have on me. I often look back on that year and consider it a pivotal time in my life. If you get a chance to go, go! If you have a chance to host a student, do so. It will change your life.

Doug Stark

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9th cbyx, 1992-93 vice president, product management & innovation, medefinance us university southern illinois university current hometown san francisco, ca german university universität stuttgart german town(s) stuttgart german internship ibm deutschland

I 1. Steve McConnell with his German Pate ca. 1991-92, and today (right) with family; 2. Doug Stark ca. 1992-93, and today; 3. Andrew Dowd (right) ca. 1993-94, and today (fifth from left) with exchange students; 4. Jennifer Erpenbeck today, and (left) ca. 1993-94.

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participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals in 1992-1993 after graduating from Southern Illinois University with a degree in computer science. While participating in the CBYX program, I attended language school in Radolfzell, spent a semester at the Universität Stuttgart, and was able to intern as a programmer at IBM Deutschland. Upon returning to the United States, I worked at Andersen Consulting (Accenture) until 2000, and was involved in technology consulting projects at Deutsche Börse Frankfurt, Overseas Chinese Bank in Singapore, and Zurich Financials in London, all of which can be traced to my CBYX experience.

I am currently Vice President of Products at MedeFinance, a healthcare software provider, where I direct the efforts of groups in the Ukraine, Hungary, and Russia and the launch of new product offerings in the United Kingdom. I attribute all of my international experience to the fundamentals I learned in Germany with CBYX. That experience afforded me not only the opportunity to develop relationships with Germans and to understand their culture, but I have been able to apply the knowledge I learned there to other countries as well. In my opinion, Germany remains the logical partner for the United States for a professional program like CBYX, based on its industrial strength, political collaborations, and its role as a gateway to other European countries.

veloped and maintain friendships with people around the world. These friendships are not only enjoyable and fulfilling, but they allow me to stay in contact with the world and to continue to see things from different perspectives. The world and its cultures are in a constant state of change and will continue to become closer, more competitive and more intricate. The value of experience gained as a result of an international exchange will only become more valuable as economic necessities and global responsibilities dictate that international trade becomes more balanced.

10th cbyx, 1993-94 president & owner, praescientia inc. us university university of maryland current hometown reisterstown, md german university fh reutlingen german town(s) reutlingen german internship ibm deutschland

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t has been nearly 15 years since I first learned that I had been selected as a participant for the 10th year of the CBYX for Young Professionals program. I could not foresee the changes that spending 11 months abroad would bring to my life, but it was the start of a true adventure. I should mention that, as someone that worked his way through college with as many as three jobs and carrying 20 or more credit hours, the CBYX program was my only probable option for gaining international experience. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be part of this brilliant and far-reaching program, and will continue to support CBYX as a firm believer in fostering international understanding.

There is no way to adequately learn about human nature through a text book. How can you explain the subtle nuances of a language and culture that has taken thousands of years to develop? True international experience is equivalent to standing in a hall of mirrors and seeing for the first time that there are many different dimensions and perspectives from which to view the world, equally important it is also a reflection in which to examine and understand ourselves.

The year spent in Germany started me off on an international career. After the program year I spent 8 years working for IBM in Europe and The Middle East where I was able to fill key roles in allowing IBM to achieve and surpass their goals. In particular my understanding and view of both European and American cultures allowed me to achieve this with less friction and waste. It was also possible to have fun along the way and act as a rare ambassador, exhibiting an American attitude based more on mutual trust and understanding, rather than a more aggressive and naïve approach.

Following my years with IBM I went back to school for an MBA and created an international exchange program between the University of Maryland and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. This partnership would act as the groundwork for even more extensive exchanges between the University and China.

Aside from the career changing nature of the program, I have also de-

Jennifer Erpenbeck 10th cbyx, 1993-94 senior project manager, baxter healthcare us university northwestern university current hometown arlington heights, il german university fh karlsruhe german town(s) karlsruhe german internship ford ag

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t’s hard to believe that our experience on CBYX in Germany happened almost 15 years ago. As I am planning the latest CBYX reunion with my friends from the program, each and every one of my peers says the same thing: “Wow! Don’t you mean 10 years??”. I never could have imagined how my life would change as a participant in the CBYX program.

In 1993, I had just graduated from Northwestern with an engineering degree and wanted to try out something abroad. After that year in Germany, I ended up leaving with a future husband, great international work experience and a huge group of life-long friends. The CBYX program is something that is always included on my resume and differentiates me over someone else when I’m vying for a job. I was lucky to be able to utilize the international/cultural angle in jobs at Motorola and Baxter Healthcare. In both cases, I was assigned to lead teams from a variety of different countries and cultures. My year abroad gave me a small bit of experience of what it is to be truly part of an international team and also gave me a curiosity about the world that drives me today.

In addition, the friends that I made (and my husband, Michael, too!) are part of my life even 15 years later. We’ve continued to meet at least every few years to share milestones in our lives including weddings, promotions, babies, and other personal successes. Whenever I am traveling, either for business or pleasure, I try to connect with a fellow “PPPler” in the area. We’ve also built relationships with some of the German PPPler that have come to Chicago and Cincinnati and was able to visit them in their new home towns of Cologne and Kassel. The CBYX experience makes the world a smaller place and I am very excited to be a part of that. In the future, I plan to maintain these relationships and build more — perhaps hosting a German CBYX participant in our own home.

I highly recommend this experience for every young professional. It can be the start of one of many new life experiences.

The value of experience gained as a result of an international exchange will only become more valuable.

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13th cbyx, 1996-97 asst. professor of mechanical engineering, the cooper union (melody) tax manager, international tax, deloitte (thomas) us university michigan technological university (mb), hunter college (tb) current hometown new york, ny german university fh wilhelmshaven (mb), freie universität berlin (tb) german town(s) wilhelmshaven, munich (mb), berlin (tb) german internship bmw (mb), wirtschaftsförderung brandenburg (tb)

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Jeanne Fahey 11th cbyx, 1994-95 program manager, integrationxchange, cds international us university boston university current hometown new york, ny german university ludwig-maximilians-universität german town(s) munich german internship gruner & jahr gmbh

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y goal to live and work abroad took me to Germany as a participant in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program for Young Professionals (1994-1995). The CBYX program gave me an opportunity of a lifetime and changed the trajectory of my career! I learned German in Cologne, attended communications classes at the Ludwig Maximillian University in Munich, and worked at Gruner & Jahr Publishing.

Armed with my intercultural skills, German fluency, and a BS in journalism from Boston University, I subsequently worked for 4 years in Munich in the area of international marketing and business development. In 2000, I completed my Intercultural Relations Masters degree from Lesley University in pursuit of a career in intercultural professional development programs and training. Since graduating, my research and work focus has been German-American relations in the workplace, international exchange programming, intercultural training and organizational development.

My intercultural career can be clearly traced to the CBYX program and my first intercultural awareness workshop – the first of three intercultural workshops during the program year – that impressed upon me the importance of intercultural preparation and competence for any international career. The preparation gave me the knowledge and skills necessary for success on the CBYX program and for my future international endeavors. Furthermore, the experienced guidance offered to me by CDS International’s staff and its holistic approach to international exchange program administration became a benchmark of excellence for my future intercultural work.

I worked for Global Immersions from 2000-2002 as the Intercultural Services Manager. I believe it is important to continually connect with other cultures and travel out of one’s comfort zone. In 2002, I was selected to be a Rotary Ambassador and traveled for 5 weeks to Eastern Europe to promote the American image and a better understanding of American culture and the workplace. My connection to CDS International came full circle in July 2002, when I became their Program Officer for the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program and Higher Education Administration Program. In 2006, I completed a professional certificate in organizational development and leadership from New York University with the ambition to start my own business.

I recently founded my own intercultural consulting company that supports intercultural services organizations in the areas of marketing

Assisting in managing the US operations while helping my boss understand “the Germans” launched my career.

Melody & Thomas Baglione

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ho would have thought you move to Germany to find that special someone? And another American no less?

We met in 1996-97 on the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. Coming from New York City and Detroit, we were city kids drawn together from similar backgrounds living in Cologne for language school. Thomas went to Berlin and Melody went to Wilhelmshaven and Munich. Years later, married and living in Manhattan with a six month old son, Jacob, we have certainly been impacted on a personal level by our CBYX experience.

Our experiences in Germany have also impacted both our professional careers. The language skills and internship at BMW were invaluable to Melody’s former career as an automotive engineer at post-merger, presplit DaimlerChrysler with its numerous cross-cultural challenges. Now as an engineering professor, Melody is able to offer a global perspective to her students.

Thomas’ experience with the Brandenburg local government’s business development office offered a stark introduction to cultural and business context – “Ossis” versus “Wessis” in the context of rebuilding East Germany with limited resources. In his career as an international business tax consultant, Thomas’ experience helped develop a more subtle perspective on issues facing cross border business transactions and life generally.

And if nothing else, knowing why no one answers the phone in Germany in August when you are trying to resolve a client’s issue, or appreciating shaking hands with the same 15 people every time you enter a room, or learning that a direct and honest approach doesn’t necessarily have to come across as rude, is priceless.

and business development, organizational development, international exchange programming, and intercultural training. Since January, I am thrilled to be working with CDS International again as the freelance Project Manager for the integrationXchange Program.

Victoria Waite 12th cbyx, 1995-96 managing associate, nathan associates us university southern oregon state college current hometown washington, dc german university fh hannover german town(s) hannover german internship commerzbank

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he CBYX experience ultimately served as the springboard that solidified my desire to pursue a career with an international dimension. While my year in Germany taught me that patience and understanding go hand-in-hand with living and working in a different culture and with another language, it also built a confidence and strengthened my self awareness by compelling me to step outside of my introverted comfort zone to make new friends and experience new adventures. This did not go unnoticed by my friends and family. My parents recognized the positive impact of the program and decided to give back by hosting German CBYX participants in Oregon. Now they have added (at least) 5 German daughters and a son to our family.

Upon returning to the United States, I decided to pursue a master’s degree in international trade policy at the Monterey Institute of International Studies where I was able to continue to develop my German language skills. In 1999, I moved to Washington DC and have since worked on trade policy issues for the U.S. Government, a private sector trade association, and an economic consulting firm. In my current capacity as a Managing Associate at Nathan Associates, I focus on providing trade-related technical assistance to developing countries in Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and South East Asia to build their capacity to formulate, negotiate, and implement trade policy. Even though I do not have many opportunities to speak German, I do utilize the patience, understanding, and confidence developed through the CBYX program to build new relationships in countries around the world.

4 1. Jeanne Fahey (left) ca.

1994-95; 2. Victoria Waite ca.

1995-96, and today in Thailand; 3. Thomas and Melody Baglione with their son today, and in Berlin ca. 1996-97; 4. Ian Bolin today, and ca.

1997-98 with Representative Tim Roemer.

Ian Bolin 14th cbyx, 1997-98 area general manager, audi of america us university marquette university current hometown st petersburg, fl german university universität stuttgart german town(s) stuttgart german internship bosch gmbh

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was awarded a scholarship to participate in the 14th CongressBundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals program in 1997-98. At the time, I was studying International Business & Marketing at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My university didn’t offer a study abroad program to Germany, but rather to Austria. My goals at the time were to meld a study abroad program to Germany with an internship in the automotive industry.

These were lofty goals and with limited contacts and finances to support my plans the CBYX program was a perfect fit.

With CBYX I had the opportunity to not only immerse myself in the German culture, but also study International Business at the Universität Stuttgart. My internship experience on CBYX was once-in-a-lifetime chance to work with Bosch, the world’s largest parts supplier, where I had the chance to learn all about the German automotive industry while gaining valuable long-term contacts.

Upon completion of the program in 1998, I returned to the States and utilized my contacts gained at Bosch to land a position with Rolls Royce & Bentley Motor Cars. My background and German skills were exactly what the President & CEO of Rolls-Royce & Bentley was looking for in his personal assistant; the company had just been acquired

by Volkswagen AG. Assisting in managing the US operations while helping my boss understand “the Germans” launched my career.

Nine years later, with thousands of Lufthansa miles in hand, I am still with the Volkswagen Group. The skills I gained from the CBYX program have been crucial in allowing me to work between the US and Germany in several very exciting roles ranging from future product development to leading the Strategy for Audi in the US. Without my German language and cultural skills none of this would have been possible. To say that the CBYX program shaped my career and life (I married a German) would be an understatement.

Jon Beasley

want to capitalize every Noun, it is worth every grammar mistake for what I consider to be the most important event that just happened this past summer when my father (who, while I was growing up, was only interested in America and our viewpoints) invited a friend from Norway he had recently met over the internet on a classic muscle car web site to come over and stay with them. I doubt this event would ever have happened without my CBYX year abroad.

14th cbyx, 1997-98 general manager, risk management, volkswagen group of america us university university of kansas current hometown royal oak, mi german university heinrich heine universität german town(s) düsseldorf german internship arthur andersen - wirtschaftsprüfer

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y participation in the CBYX program has shaped my values and opened doors for me professionally and personally. Probably my first observation upon arriving in Germany was the spirit of preserving the environment and appreciation for the outdoors. I also love the outdoors, and therefore could easily relate to this cause. As a result, I became more aware of my choices, and now strive to minimize my personal impact on the environment. I recycle, choose more fuel efficient vehicles and try to make household choices that minimize my environmental footprint.

As my language skills developed and I was better able to understand the news reports, I also observed there were far fewer reports of violent crimes. Lower crime rates I believe are a result of Germany’s continuous efforts to eliminate poverty. This realization has inspired me to do what I can to help break the cycle of poverty here in the US by giving to educational foundations and scholarships and contributing to various children’s causes.

In addition to shaping my personal values, my experience in Germany also opened up many doors in my life. I have relocated several times over the years, and each time my language skills and international background have helped me to meet new friends. My current home is in Michigan, and many of my friends are Germans or Europeans that I have met through my current employer, the VW Group. It seems we all share a passion for travel and appreciation for other cultures.

My employment with the VW Group was no coincidence; several years ago when I was pursuing new career opportunities, a former CBYX colleague and close friend made me aware of an opening at VW. My language skills and international career experience were significant selling points in securing the job offer.

I look back on that year and how it has impacted my life, and am very grateful for having applied and being chosen for CBYX. I’m certain that all past participants could share many of the same examples of how this program has positively impacted their personal and professional development. We also all have one other thing in common: all of the great memories of the adventures of living in Germany.

Tom Calvin 14th cbyx, 1997-98 sales manager, amc us university michigan technological university current hometown mundelein, il german university fh karlsruhe german town(s) karlsruhe german internship bruker-axs

1. Jon Beasley today, and ca. 1997-98 (bottom center); 2. Tom Calvin today (left), and (right) ca.

1997-98; 3. Darcy Hansen ca. 1998-99.

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hile my thoughts on my life in Germany with the 19971998 CBYX program have always been fond ones of the close friends, great experiences, and tremendous opportunity to learn a lot about Germany, I didn’t believe from the start that it had a significant impact on my life and career after it was over. But now, as 10

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My year in Germany opened a window to Europe and beyond, and now that experience keeps opening doors for me in the professional world. years have passed since that time, my conclusion has drastically changed to believing that this single year in Germany has had a larger impact on my career and life than the combined years of all of my schooling.

When I started my first real job in managing trade shows after the program, I thought about how I never used German, would likely never travel internationally with the exception of Canada, and had little contact with any company outside the U.S. I was frustrated that my year abroad hadn’t advanced my career, nor would I be able to utilize what I had learned. But as years went on, one of our trade shows which had never had a German exhibitor before now suddenly had several and the amount of customers we had in Europe has drastically increased.

It seems I had overlooked how much I was able to not only use a bit of my German language skills, but also other skills I had picked up that year such as understanding that a Spaniard standing directly in your face wasn’t a threat but a different comfort level with personal space. And then I thought about all those instances when at our conventions I was able to help some lost German attendees find their way at the Las Vegas Convention Center in their own language, or pick up badges to enter our Expo, or direct them where to go for lunch. Seemingly small incidents that went a long way to make someone feel welcome in the alien land that is Las Vegas.

In time, my realization grew further beyond these few obvious instances; that large walls to some of my colleagues have always been small hurdles to me; that I have a much better ability than I recall having in college to look at an issue from multiple sides and understand someone else’s point of view; that bonding with individuals outside the U.S. is better because it provides an opportunity to use and share that year’s experiences; that just this May I met up with a friend from England, Dan Bradley, whom I had met from my CBYX year, emailing with him and about 6 other of my European “flat-mates” on an almost daily basis; and remembering that I would never have known about the very job I’m at today were it not for a fellow CBYX participant.

And while I did pick up a bad habit I wish I hadn’t in that I seem to

Darcy Hansen 15th cbyx, 1998-99 manager, corporate communications, amdocs us university baylor university current hometown new york, ny german university universität hamburg german town(s) hamburg german internship hamburger abendblatt

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uring my year in Hamburg with the CBYX for Young Professionals program, I had an internship at the Hamburger Abendblatt, one of the main Hamburg daily newspapers. Following that, I had the opportunity to work at two technology-focused public relations (PR) agencies in San Francisco and New York. Both had international clients, including SAP, that needed help communicating their corporate messages to the marketplace. This required an understanding of the media landscape, which I was able to obtain to a certain extent in Hamburg. Because of what I learned during my internship about the local and European media, I have gained a larger perspective that I call upon in my work for clients. Even local reporting sometimes requires a regional and global view, which is not always top-of-mind in the United States.

I have been one of the few people asked to translate news stories and press releases and run conference calls with Germany on a regular basis.

My current job at a global software company requires working with our German PR agency to run the public relations program for that market.

From a broader perspective, my year in Germany has encouraged me to think in new ways about my career and life goals, and fueled my desire to continue experiencing the world. My year in Germany opened a window to Europe and beyond, and now that experience keeps opening doors for me in the professional world.

James Scheuerman 16th cbyx, 1999-00 technical trainer, mercedes-benz us university rockland community college current hometown warwick, ny german university berufskolleg technik german town(s) remscheid german internship mercedes-benz

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raveling to Germany for a year! Learning a new language!

Studying and working with Germans! Learning the German culture through my profession! All of these aspects of the CBYX program made clear to me that this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. But I never could have imagined when I was accepted to the 16th CBYX for Young Professionals program how it would change my life, both personally and professionally, forever. I now try to live my life with an open-door policy, and to take advantage of learning

1 experiences whenever they come my way. Though most of my life experiences thus far have been great, I definitely would have to put living in Germany for a year on the top of the pedestal.

After being accepted into the program, reality hit when I realized I had never been on a plane before, no less to a completely different continent. I knew from the time I stepped foot in Washington D.C. for the welcome orientation that this was going to be the experience of a lifetime.

My profession is actually a personal hobby as well: I work in the automotive industry. Before going to Germany, I worked at a Dodge (Chrysler) dealership in my hometown as a technician. When I was accepted into the CBYX program, I wanted to complete an internship with either automotive training, or work at a dealership. And since Daimler-Benz and Chrysler had recently merged, what immediately came to mind was working for Mercedes-Benz—which I did, training and working as a technician during my CBYX internship.

My experience working at a Mercedes-Benz Niederlassung (Corporate Dealer) in Duisburg certainly set me on the path of my current career. Shortly after the program ended, knowing the specifics of the German automotive language landed me a job at Mercedes-Benz USA, working for the literature department for a year and a half. And for the past six years, I have held a position as a Mercedes-Benz factory Technical Trainer. I know I would not be at where I am today if it were not for my experiences obtained on CBYX. And to top it all, I have remained in very good contact with my coworker from Duisburg!

And the German friends I made are truly friends for life: they are sincere people with a deep sense of trust. I always felt welcome and still feel welcome to be in their lives.

Having the chance to learn the German culture has instilled me with a much broader outlook on life, and it was very easy for me to adapt and incorporate many attributes of German culture into my own life, simply because I loved what they stood for. I knew it would make me a more well-rounded person, and obtaining these new traits has made me the person I am today.

I hope many young professionals in the future will have the opportunity to grow the same way as myself by participating in CBYX.

Peter Sandrian 18th cbyx, 2001-02 design engineer, daedalus excel us university purdue university current hometown pittsburgh, pa german university hochschule bremen german town(s) bremen german internship suhling technik

1. Kay Van der Made (left) today with family, and ca. 2000-01; 2.

James Scheuerman ca.

1999-00 , and today; 3. Peter Sandrian ca.

2001-02, and today.

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17th cbyx, 2000-01 engineer, formerly with ford motor company us university michigan technological university current hometown the hague, netherlands german university universität karlsruhe german town(s) karlsruhe german internship dr. kohr gmbh & co. kg

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Caroline Clouse 19th cbyx, 2002-03 editorial manager, turner broadcasting us university university of north carolina at chapel hill current hometown atlanta, ga german university fh der medien german town(s) stuttgart german internship ehrle studios gmbh, g/b/o sales communication group gmbh

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pending a year in Germany on the CBYX program served as the perfect transition from being a student to starting a career. Though I minored in German at UNC, my speaking skills left much to be desired, and through the intensive two-month speaking course and living with a host family (thank you, Familie Fetzer!), I was able to improve my German to a level of speaking confidence that I brought with me back to the States.

The Fachhochschule der Medien I attended for a semester offered real-life courses in print design, advertising and production and enabled me to get involved in the community as well as meet students. The highlight of the semester culminated in our livebroadcast production of a one-hour television show entitled “Me-

After being accepted into the program,

reality hit when I realized I had never been on a plane before, no less to a completely different continent.

Kay Van der Made

articipating in the 17th CBYX program in 2000-2001 heightened my awareness of not only German culture and politics, but of American and European relations. I appreciated experiencing the highs and lows that go with adapting to unfamiliar surroundings and the shock of returning to my home country a changed person. Professionally, the sensitivity to cultural differences that I gained in Germany helped me communicate effectively as an engineer with the Ford Motor Company with diverse project teams in China, England, Germany, Korea, Mexico, Japan, and Turkey.

More importantly, CBYX gave me the opportunity to make last-

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have my dream job – minus one factor – in Pittsburgh, a city I enjoy immensely. My CBYX experience helped me get here. Some obvious personal habits reflect my year of German immersion: buying hardy bread at the bakery on the corner; closing doors and shutting off lights; packing groceries in cloth bags; my affinity for biking. The influence of CBYX on my professional development is less obvious, but that will change.

What’s a dream job? I design things – usually medical or electronic devices – from the ground up. Then I get to build them and test performance before making modifications and redesigning 3D models in CAD to make improved prototypes. This iterative process continues until a product is ready for manufacturing and the market. In any week, I contribute to three or four various projects, and I’d be hard-pressed to name a mechanical/ bio-engineer whose work day is more stimulating than mine.

My CBYX experience is reflected in my job search and ultimate job choice, even though I don’t speak German at work. CBYX taught me how to apply and interview well. The experience gave me the confidence to pursue opportunities that are the most attractive, and dismiss the mediocre possibilities. When I scoured the employment landscape in Pittsburgh in the year approaching my graduate thesis defense, this experience enabled me to find a real gem of a job.

During CBYX, I completed an internship for Suhling Technik (today called Ilsemann Automation), a manufacturing machinery company of ~200 workers in Bremen. This internship was vastly satisfying because the consequence of my design work was immediately visible. Mistake and success were directly reinforced – I could walk right to the Werkstatt

to see each component made, and help make it with an autonomy I hadn’t had anywhere else.

Equipped with the knowledge of how I like to work, I moved into an excellent role at a design firm. What’s missing? International flavor and the chance to speak a foreign language each day. One year in Germany instilled some quirks in my everyday routine, but I miss the nuances that come through direct interaction with people of another culture. I am so thrilled with my current job that I have wondered, ‘How can it get any better than this?’ Simple - throw in some German. Experience tells me that that will come.

ing friendships with both Germans and foreigners living in Germany. International friendship and mutual respect, once earned, makes for a lifetime of cross-cultural exchange. In 2007, I found myself once again adapting to life in Europe. My husband (who is Dutch) and I sold our Michigan home, I quit my job, and we moved to The Hague, The Netherlands when I was 6 months pregnant.

Robin and I were blessed with the arrival of our son Andrik on January 21, 2008. Andrik is Dutch and American and our goal is to raise him to be a good global citizen. We are planning to vacation this summer in Cologne, Saarbrücken, and Karlsruhe to visit CBYX friends. Vielen Dank CBYX!

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dia Lounge,” in which entertainers in the media were interviewed by our mediator and participated in a round-table discussion.

The internship I had at Ehrle Studios, a small advertising agency, taught me the computer software skills that in large part helped me secure my first job upon arriving back in the States. I worked on a Mac and became proficient at Quark, both of which proved vital in my job as an associate editor for a national TV magazine.

My experience in day-to-day living in Germany was fabulous. I enjoyed spending time in Stuttgart as well as jumping on a train and visiting friends in Frankfurt and Mainz. I found Germans to be impressed with the idea that an American was interested in learning their language and culture, and that concept led to conversations and subsequent friendships.

I became far more interested in foreign media and America’s impact on the rest of the world, and my year abroad served as an

ideal platform for discussions on current events and politics. Now I work for part of the world’s largest media conglomerate, and it’s a place where you need to be in the know, so my year in Germany was excellent preparation.

Soon after I was hired at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., I was asked by our corporate protocol specialist to take part in a meeting with several German members of parliament who wanted to discuss the possibilities of expanding an exchange program sponsored by our countries’ governments. Imagine my delight when I discovered it was delegates from the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange: Ernst Burgbacher, Dagmar Freitag, Bartholomäus Kalb and Bernd Scheelen. Christian Simeit, the interpreter, joined us as well. These and other experiences continue to link me back to my year in Germany; I would recommend the program to anyone interested in an incredible personal, cultural and career-building year.

made this experience so wonderful and they remain a very special part of my life today. Despite the distance and passage of time, our bonds have strengthened and evolved over time instead of fading away and I am thankful to have met such inspiring individuals.

The CBYX program is different for every person but I can honestly attest that it was one of the most life-defining experiences in my life. The program set the wheels in motion for my future career and shaped me as a person.

20th cbyx, 2003-04 summer associate, m ccurley, orsinger, mccurley, nelson & downing llp us university university of wisconsin - madison current hometown dallas, tx german university rheinische fh german town(s) cologne german internship ideenkapital financial engineering

20th cbyx, 2003-04 graduate student, georgetown university us university loyola marymount university current hometown st petersburg, fl german university universität leipzig german town(s) leipzig german internship german-american chamber of commerce

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19th cbyx, 2002-03 associate, client management group, drake management us university new york university current hometown new york, ny german university johann-goethe-universität german town(s) frankfurt german internship bnp paribas

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Anne Kaufman

he CBYX program profoundly shaped the direction of my career path. During my year in Germany, I interned with a financial services firm that specialized in commercial real estate investments in the United States for private German investors. Germans are the most ambitious foreign investors of real property in the US. Among the holdings of the company I worked for in Germany were a number of prestige buildings such as the Chrysler Building in New York City.

When I returned Stateside, I worked with a firm based in Atlanta that specialized in providing investment services in acquisition and management of commercial properties for German investors.

Thus, the experience in Germany was immediately applicable to my work upon my return to US. I decided to leave the finance field pursuant to a life changing health crisis. In the spring of 2005 I developed a clot in my right carotid artery in my brain. I narrowly averted a stroke or, even worse, death. Fortunately, this experience helped me on a path to law. Currently, I am entering my third year of law school. My focus is on international commercial law. I was a participant in the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot Court – a moot court competition consisting of 164 teams from around the world in Vienna. While the competition takes place in English, having an appreciation for other languages and cultures, which the CBYX fosters, has been invaluable. German and Germany remain strong factors in my life. CBYX really helped to support those connections.

CBYX affects the lives of participants in many ways. For some it is a time when they truly define their self-identities. For me, the greatest effect was the friendships formed. This is not to mitigate the fact that the CBYX year develops some tremendously powerful and life changing skills – especially understanding your own culture better as you examine it through the lens of another. Yet, the fact that five years out from my year I remain in close contact with many of the participants, work colleagues, and my host family is telling that the friendships made are perhaps the most tangible result of the year.

Liz Chacko

n the summer of 2002 I embarked on the 19th CBYX for Young Professionals program with a mixture of excitement, fear, and apprehension in anticipation what lay ahead over the next twelve months. For me, the program was a crucial stepping stone as I graduated from college and transitioned into the professional environment. I saw it as an opportunity to gain broader perspective working in an international context and to explore another facet of the global capital markets having spent my undergraduate years working at a multi-national commercial bank.

Interning at a French bank in Germany was my first introduction to institutional European banking clientele. It was also a lesson in cultural awareness and planted the seeds for a career in international business affairs. During the internship, I learned that to succeed against the backdrop of an increasingly global business environment, I needed more than just an impressive CV and knowledge of German. Historical context combined with an understanding of the current landscape and people were equally important factors.

The experience also confirmed my desire to stay in financial services and work with institutional clients. These insights led me to my next position in New York at a start-up asset management firm, where I focused on business development and marketing to institutional investors globally for four years. Reflecting on these experiences, I decided to pursue my growing interest in economic development initiatives in transitioning economies and am now preparing to begin an international MBA course.

On the personal side, the year was a true journey of self-discovery and maturity. I became more independent and self-reliant while learning to cope in the face of great uncertainty and to trust in my abilities. It gave me a renewed sense of self-confidence and accomplishment that has remained with me and driven me to continually seek new challenges professionally and academically.

Finally, the experience would not have been complete without my friends and host family. They were an important aspect of what

Ryan Kirkham

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1. Caroline Clouse (right) ca. 2002-03, and with group of Bundestag Representatives today; 2. Liz Chacko (right) with fellow CBYX Alums today, and (fourth from left) ca. 2002-03; 3. Anne Kaufman (left) and Ryan Kirkham (right) ca. 2003-04 with fellow CBYX participants by the Berlin Wall, and Kirkham (left) with his fiancée today, and Kaufman today.

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BYX was a crucial step in my life between my first experience as an undergraduate studying abroad in Bonn, Germany in 1999 to my recent graduation from Georgetown University with a Master’s degree in German and European studies in May 2008. As a PPPler in Leipzig, Germany in 2003-2004, I worked for the German-American Chamber of Commerce of California, where in addition to promoting international business relations, I had the opportunity to travel across Germany, conducting seminars to prepare German students for internships and work in the US. CBYX and my prior experience as a Fulbright teaching assistant in Graz, Austria in 2001-2003, helped me realize an important professional desire: I want to promote cross-cultural education. I believe cross-cultural education to be the most effective diplomatic tool for promoting mutual understanding between nations and global regions.

In light of world events, I believe the cultural diplomacy work of CBYX is invaluable to the cause of improving international relations. During my graduate studies in 2007, I sought to pursue such cross-cultural work at the federal level as an intern at the State Department in the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs in the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy. There, I worked to support the educational and cultural diplomacy projects at European embassies and consulates. Beyond furthering my professional goals, these cultural diplomacy missions greatly contribute toward creating a more comprehensive and accurate image of America throughout the world, particularly in countries antagonistic to the US. As a graduate student at Georgetown’s BMW Center for German

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2 and European Studies, I focused much of my research on comparative approaches to international education and wrote my master’s thesis on the evolving landscape of international higher education in Europe. I now intend to connect my academic interests to real world application by promoting educational exchange professionally. I am looking for employment in the Los Angeles area where I hope to continue to advance crosscultural educational programs like those administered by CBYX. In addition to my professional pursuits, the friends that I have made along the way are what truly enrich the educational experience. Two good friends who were high school participants of the CBYX program, Eric Leise (CBYX, 2000-2001) and Lela Gibson (CBYX 1998-1999), are also fellow graduates from the BMW Center for German and European Studies. Both Eric and Lela will be moving to Los Angeles this summer to begin PhD programs at UCLA.

Tim Stucka 21st cbyx, 2004-05 senior manager, portfolio strategy group, sap us university university of michigan current hometown san francisco, ca german university johann wolfgang goethe universität german town(s) frankfurt german internship deutsche bank ag

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y participation in the CBYX for Young Professionals program in Cologne and Frankfurt during 2004-2005 marked an exciting and formative year for me both personally and professionally. I not only gained an appreciation for German language and culture while forging friendships that remain strong to this day, but also gained the confidence to pursue my dream of an international career.

Since returning from the program and finishing my higher education at UC Berkeley, I started working in the Portfolio Strategy Group at SAP, the Germany-based global leader in enterprise software. While I live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area, I travel to the company headquarters near Heidelberg about every 6 weeks to collaborate with solution managers on business cases that support new software products. The ability to speak German as an American comes as a positive surprise to most of my colleagues and has helped me immensely when trying to build relationships and understand contexts that might otherwise seem bewildering.

Even mistakes can be interesting, as I once literally bumped into the Vorstandssprecher and correctly excused myself to Herr Doktor but, incorrectly, pronounced my own last name with a German accent!

In any case, I owe much to CBYX for making possible for me what too 1

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even doing the most mundane tasks was great, I couldn’t stop thinking how cool it was that I was living in Germany. This experience has sparked a desire to travel and explore that will stay with me for a long time. In fact after two years of being back in America, I am now planning my next trip and living abroad experience.

Julia Shaw

few have the opportunity to experience – to see one’s own culture from the perspective of another, and gain a heightened appreciation for both.

Laura Stevens 22nd cbyx, 2005-06 writer, arkansas democrat-gazette us university university of central florida current hometown little rock, ar german university universität potsdam german town(s) berlin german internship wall street journal europe

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oing into my year abroad with Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals in 2005-2006, I knew that I had an internship with The Wall Street Journal, that I would be placed in Berlin, and that the year would be a challenge.

What I didn’t yet realize was that the program would be a defining force in both my life and career.

Obviously, an internship with The Wall Street Journal would be a boon for any young journalist. But interning in Berlin with German coworkers, conducting interviews in a foreign language and reading several major German newspapers a day – that adds a level of complexity and challenge that intrigued several newspapers upon my applying. On top of that, I was able to gain an in-depth knowledge of European politics and history through courses during my semester at the Universität Potsdam.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a statewide paper and one of the 50 largest newspapers in the country, hired me as a business reporter after I returned from my year abroad. Calling someone to interview them in a foreign language is so much more intimidating than interviewing them in English, and in-depth research and month-long projects seem like a breeze as compared to my internship during CBYX. My internship in Germany provided invaluable experience and gave my American bosses confidence to allow me to pursue difficult and challenging projects. One such article detailed a complicated mineral rights mess involving the lucrative natural gas Fayetteville Shale formation here in Arkansas, for which I won an in-house investigative reporting award and the “Freedom Bell” award from the National Association of Royalty Owners.

Beyond the direct impacts of my year with the program on my career, I have a family in Germany who has taken me in as their own, a broader world view, and I think a lot about recycling (a question still perplexes me: into which bin would chewed gum go?). I made life-long friends, gained the command of a foreign language, and added a set of skills that can’t be replicated by working in a comfort zone.

What I didn’t yet realize was that the program would be a defining force in both my life and my career.

1. Tim Stucka today, and ca. 2004-05; 2. Laura Stevens today, and (center) ca. 2005-06; 3.

Julia Shaw today, and (left) ca. 2005-06 at work in Germany; 4. Ben Becker, ca. 2005-06.

22nd cbyx, 2005-06 corporate wellness exercise specialist, apple, inc. us university san diego state university current hometown sunnyvale, ca german university universität erlangen german town(s) erlangen german internship medi train - zentrum für gesundheitssport und sporttherapie

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y exchange year to Germany was definitely one of the most memorable years of my life. Aside from meeting fantastic friends within the 75 Americans that went 4 to Germany together, I made contacts and life-long friendships 22nd cbyx, 2005-06 engineer, kci technologies with Germans for which I am so grateful. I was raised by a Gerus university university of maryland man mother and grew up with many German cultural experiences, current hometown baltimore, md but to have actually lived and worked in the land of my ancestors german university universität chemnitz is truly amazing. I would say my knowledge of the German langerman town(s) chemnitz guage before I left on my exchange was slim to none. The learning german internship ingenieurgesellschaft auto und verkehr gmbh process wasn’t always enjoyable or easy, but my comfort level increased month after month. y experiences in Germany as a participant in the 22nd This was especially apparent to me in June 2006, almost a year year of the CBYX for Young Professionals program (2005- after I had arrived in Cologne, when a ‘Familien Treffen’ (Family 2006) has impacted me positively personally and profes- Reunion) was organized for all of my immediate family and mother’s sionally. Professionally, I had studied mechanical engineering in the side of the family: my parents, my aunt and uncle, as well as cousins, US, and was able to work at an automobile technology development uncles and aunts I had never met were in attendance. I was so happy company in Chemnitz during the program’s internship phase. This gave to finally meet my German family members, and was able to commume the opportunity to interact with about 10 engineers, while mostly nicate with them in German! We enjoyed getting to know each other, helping a graduate student with his thesis work. Together we set up good German food, as well as rooting for the German National Soccer an engine test bench, and recorded and processed data that mapped team during the World Cup, which was held in Germany that year. I out airflow through different parts of a diesel engine. This was my first have so many great memories from my year in Germany, but I will never experience working at an engineering company and I learned how this forget that day because one of my goals of living in Germany was to particular company operated; the engineers each worked autono- learn more about my German family, and I feel like that was perfectly mously on the projects, while helping one another work through prob- accomplished. lems they encountered through discussion and investigation. Weekly I think without the experience of working in Germany, my German meetings showed me how the company’s long terms goals steered the would have never gotten to the level it did. I was immediately forced to current projects and how business planning enters into the engineering use my German language while working for a physical therapy/exercise field. Having had the opportunity to work at a foreign company and business. I was able to utilize my exercise physiology background, meet being able speak German are also impressive to future employers, and a wide variety of Germans who used that facility, and make great lifeshows one’s ability to learn and be flexible in stressful situations. long friends with my co-workers. When I returned from Germany, I had The CBYX program has affected me the most personally. Participat- a larger variety of experience in my field and stronger resume. I was able ing in this program was the best decision I ever made. The program ad- to finish my Masters in Kinesiology/Exercise Science and have since ministration was excellent and the program officers very friendly and been working for Apple, Inc. in their corporate wellness department as helpful. The other participants I met as well as the friends I made in an exercise specialist.

Germany were also great and many of the friends I made I still write to.

I feel as though my year in Germany helped catapult my personal Living in another country, learning the language, and managing my life and professional life to the fullest. Upon my return from Germany, I in a foreign environment was very empowering. I feel much more con- was more comfortable with myself as well as more confident in my fident in all my abilities after participating in this program. Additionally, knowledge in the field of exercise physiology. I am truly grateful to forcing myself to meet new people and practice German even though the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals I felt foolish in the beginning gave me confidence that makes meeting program. I would never give back the year I spent in Germany and new people now much easier. will continue to urge others to do the same.

The adventure of the whole experience was exhilarating; every day

Ben Becker

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Ashley Quigless 23rd cbyx, 2006-07 graduate student, boston college law school us university vanderbilt university current hometown boston, ma german university universität potsdam german town(s) berlin, düsseldorf german internship verlagsgruppe handelsblatt gmbh

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BYX for Young Professionals offered me the chance of a lifetime – an opportunity not only to strengthen my language skills, but to apply those skills in the workplace. I remember first seeing the Kölner Dom and the sidewalk artists and the crowds of people. After a few previous trips to Germany and four years of college German, I could understand the people without any effort, and I could communicate with that same rhythm that is unique to the German language. That marked the beginning of the most spectacular year of my life thus far.

In Cologne, I met friends of all nationalities in my German classes at the language center, lived with an incredible German family, and I partook in many cultural excursions to nearby towns and parks.

My adventure continued at the Universität Potsdam, taking German business and law courses, and auditing courses of German and European law at several other universities in Berlin (Freie Universität and Humboldt Universität). Berlin exposed me to renowned art galleries and amazing sporting events - I even had the opportunity to chat with Hertha BSC Berlin’s coach and several of the soccer players. My final destination of Germany was Düsseldorf, where I worked for Germany’s largest financial publishing house, and I partook in a photo shoot for a local German festival.

I lived in three amazing cities – Cologne, Berlin, and Düsseldorf – in one year. There were some challenges—carrying a mattress in the middle of Düsseldorf to my apartment; working my way through German law courses and simultaneously preparing for my law school entry exam (LSAT) in Munich; surviving a Berlin winter; and the arduous task of maintaining my finances. However, this experience has carried me far!

Currently, I am in the process of finishing my first year at Boston College Law School. Just as Germany taught me to adapt to a new lifestyle, law school has challenged me to learn a new language of legal analysis.

However, Germany continues to be a vital part of my life. I maintain contact with my host families and friends in Germany, and I will participate in the European international consulting project at Boston College Business School next year, working with a German telecommunications firm.

Amy Voss

2 23rd cbyx, 2006-07 student, university of alaska, anchorage us university university of alaska, anchorage current hometown anchorage, ak german university hotelfachschule pirna german town(s) pirna, dresden german internship the westin bellevue

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y CBYX experience from 2006-2007 was the best year of my life and I emerged a completely changed person.

At the beginning of the year, I was shy, quiet, and selfconscious; by the end of my trip, I had come out of my shell with self-confidence and hope for the future.

Before going to Germany, I had almost reached fluency in German, and

1. Ashley Quigless (center) at a soccer game ca. 2006-07, and today in Boston; 2. Amy Voss (bottom, third from left) ca.

2006-07 at work in Germany, and today in Alaska; 3. Bryce Ekeren (left) with his German host family, and (right) preparing to work.

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looked forward to spending a year immersed in the language and culture.

At first, I shied away from talking with Germans because I was afraid of making mistakes, but then I realized that I could only improve through my mistakes. Once I took advantage of this amazing opportunity, I blossomed not only in my German language skills, but also as a person.

Upon returning to the United States, I knew that I would be homesick for Germany. This hasn’t changed, and I think I will always long to go back.

Fortunately, my studies continue to distract and occupy me. After returning from Germany, my major was Hospitality/Restaurant Management, but I quickly realized that this was wrong for me because I could not further my German. I decided to switch to a double major in German and International Studies and a double minor in Business Administration and History. Before spending a year in Germany, I could never have imagined making such a huge change in my studies and future; however, my year away provided me with the incentive and confidence I needed.

Now, I am studying what I truly enjoy and deeply desire to know more about. In the future, I would like to work in Germany because of the connections I formed with the Germans and their language and culture. I believe that my new course of study will provide me with the necessary knowledge to obtain a position in Germany.

Because I no longer am constantly bombarded by the German language, I have sought opportunities to speak, read, and write German. I take German literature courses at my university and work as a German tutor. Further, volunteering at the new German immersion school’s kindergarten, I’ve been amazed to watch these little children progress and respond as if German came naturally to them. I am also the president of my university’s German Culture Club. So my skills aren’t lost; I have added to my vocabulary and gained even more passion for this language.

In closing, I want to reiterate how thankful I am that I had the opportunity to spend a whole year in Germany. I fell even more in love with the country and the language and would give anything to be back there now. My experiences gave me a broader and more mature perspective on life. Now, I use every opportunity to pass my enthusiasm onto other students—by presenting at high schools and my university, volunteering with other German students, and even speaking at awards ceremonies. Nothing can compare with my year in Germany and I will always cherish my memories. Thank you for giving me the time of my life!

Bryce Ekeren 24th cbyx, 2007-08 participant, cbyx for young professionals us university orlando culinary academy current hometown berlin, germany german university universität potsdam german town(s) berlin german internship café lebensart

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he Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals has been a marvelous experience that has changed my life. Before this program, I had enjoyed a rather successful education in the culinary field, having held jobs in prominent restaurants and resorts in the U.S. I did not expect much in the way of new training in Germany, just the finishing touches on what I had already learned. Boy, was I wrong!

My education in Germany was in a way entirely different than the training I had received in the U.S. It took new approaches and new techniques that had never been discussed in my schooling previously. The combination of ‘schooling’ and ‘work’ phases in CBYX give just the right balance to theoretical and practical learning. While the entire education system in Germany is rather different, and has lead to challenges throughout my year, I have become much stronger in areas I once felt weak in. Now having nearly completed the program I can see that I am going to have to set my sight a lot higher when I return home. Having already sent my résumé to various possible employers, the response has been phenomenal. The training I have been able to receive in Germany seems to be just the sort of thing that employers in my field are seeking. Now I am going to have many job offers to choose from when I return to the U.S. Personally, I feel the CBYX program has given me even more than I could have ever hoped for. While I have always been a very independent, self-made man, it wasn’t until this year living in Germany that I truly felt 100% happy with myself and my life. I have been able to reflect on my life and its direction without many of the distractions of old friends and family reminding me of my past. I have been able to charter a course that I am so excited to continue down. Having always traveled abroad since I was able to walk, I once again did not expect this time abroad to be much different.

However, with spending an entire year on foreign soil, I truly have a different outlook. I have re-discovered what it means for me to be an American and how I wish to play a part in my country. I am grateful to everyone who has made this year for me a reality, and I hope that future participants take advantage of this amazing program and life-changing experience.

Having nearly completed CBYX, I can see that I’m going to have to set my sight a lot higher when I get home.

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25th CBYX Participants participant Alison Agres Sarah Barnum Zach Baugher Walter Behn Maria Blanchet Mira Adelia Bles Rachel Bodsky Christian Bogue Kendra Borja Amadea Britton Kiana Brown-Nance William Buescher Allison Bush Sophie CantĂş-Young Connie Chang Charles Coultas Jessica Day Emilie Dettamanti-Keskekci Chance Dorland Andrew Eith Sarah Engstrom Jeremy Faulkner Olga Generalova Clay Guillory Mychal Guyton Henry Hanson Matthew Hiltner Stephanie Hilz Marvis Huff Catania James Chipley Jones Senay Kahsay Kristina Kalpaxis Keriin Katsaros Ryan Katzfey Mark Keske Andrew Kinder Bryce Klein Anna Kozanecka Jenna Lacy Craig Lalumiere Joseph Lane Terrell Levine Lori Liehs Zach Little Helen Liu William Makowski Justin Marsha Sasha-Maria Martin Paul Mittermiller Lucy Price Eamonn Reider Heather Richter Sean Ryan Valentina Samodelov Kseniya Shelkovskaya Benjamin Sigerson Daniel Stevens Ryan Supek Morgan Swanlund William Swanson Bernardo Teixeira Allison Thompson Paul Tilley Nataliya Udovyk Lindsey Van Sambeek Christopher Vitale Maria Von Berg Erik Walker Patricia Warne Anthony West Kristen Wyman Calvin Xu John Young Philip Zaring

hometown Mahwah, NJ San Diego, CA Raymond, WA San Luis Obispo, CA Orlando, FL Laurel, MD Sunnyvale, CA Nazareth, PA Camas, WA Los Angeles, CA Paulsboro, NJ Raleigh, NC West Hartford, CT San Antonio, TX Troy, MI Mill Creek, WA Montrose, MO Redwood City, CA Granger, IA Kirtland, OH Eden Prairie, MN Albuquerque, NM Brooklyn, NY Youngsville, LA Bluefield, WV Eugene, OR Brooklyn Park, MN McKinney, TX Galena Park, TX Spring Valley, NY Harrisonburg, VA Kent, WA Glendale, NY Flower Mound, TX Milwaukee, WI Smiths, AL Atlanta, GA Richmond, MO Glendale, NY San Diego, CA Central Village, CT Pelzer, SC Scotch Plains, NJ Waverly, IA Bartlett, TN Walnut Creek, CA Huntsville, AL Highgate Center, VT Panama City Beach, FL La Jolla, CA Telluride, CO Cedar Rapids, IA Mesa, AZ Thermopolis, WY Fairview Park, OH Brooklyn, NY Washington, DC Baldwin, MD Wilmington, MA Stillwater, MN Salinas, CA Miami, FL Albany, NY Alpharetta, GA Anchorage, AK Columbia, MO Baldwin, NY Cumming, GA The Woodlands, TX Albuquerque, NM Lewisville, TX Townsend, GA Brooklyn, NY Washington, DC Crestwood, KY

u.s. university University of Pennsylvania San Diego City College Whatcom Community College University of California, Berkeley University of Michigan, Ann Arbor University of Maryland Chapman University University of South Carolina Seattle University Princeton University American University North Carolina State University University of Vermont University of Regiomontana University of Michigan University of Washington Northwest Missouri State University Stanford University Emerson College Lakeland Community College University of Minnesota University of New Mexico Hunter College University of Louisiana at Lafayette Bluefield State College University of Portland Gustavus Adolphus College Trinity University San Jacinto College North State University of New York, Purchase American University Seattle University Hunter College University of California, Santa Barbara University of Minnesota Auburn University Occidental College Johnson County Community College University of Southern California Grossmont Community College Vermont Technical College Clemson University Tufts University Wartburg College Southwest Tennessee Community College University of California, Berkeley University of Alabama Vermont Technical College Tallahassee Community College Yale University Sarah Lawrence College University of Iowa Arizona State University Northwest College Ohio State University Barnard College University of Wisconsin, Madison Culinary Institute of America Gettysburg College Michigan Technological University Pomona College New York University Brandeis University University of Denver University of Alaska, Anchorage Arizona State University Culinary Institute of America Oglethorpe University Denison University University of New Mexico Southwestern University Daytona Beach Community College New York Institute of Technology University of North Carolina at Greensboro Northern Kentucky University

Colophon Booklet Compiled and Edited by Will Maier, C B Y X A l u m n i C o o r d i n at o r L o g o , L ay o u t, a n d M e d i a b y E r i k S p o o n e r , 2 3 r d C B Y X Pa r t i c i pa n t www. e r i k s p o o n e r . c o m t h i s b o o k i s t y p e s e t i n a c o m b i n at i o n o f w h i t n e y a n d w h i t n e y c o m p r e ss e d f o r b o d y c o p y, b y t h e h o e f l e r & f r e r e -j o n e s t y p e f o u n d r y ( n e w y o r k , NY ) , a n d f o r t h e d i s p l ay c o p y, c h a l e t b y h o u s e i n d u s t r i e s ( Y o r k ly n , DE ) .