Scholarship allows Johnson County teens to spend year exploring this European country

Two Johnson County teens are spending the academic year in Germany, courtesy of the American and German governments. Emma Anderson of Olathe and Anna Miesner of Shawnee received the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship to study at German high schools.

Each is living with a host family and attending classes conducted in German. Emma is in Bottrop, a town about 30 miles east of the border of the Netherlands. Anna is living in Kefferhausen in central Germany, roughly 120 miles west of Leipzig.

Most of the 250 American participants do not live in big cities, as families in less populated areas typically have more room to host the exchange students. It also helps them experience life in a more typically German way.

“Living in a city, like New York or Los Angeles, doesn’t represent necessarily the standard American lifestyle,” said Katie Pfohl, manager of grant programs for Council on International Educational Exchange, which administers the program in 18 states. “It’s easier to immerse when you’re in a smaller town.”

Participants don’t have to know German when they apply, but they do get intensive language training before they start school in Germany. For Emma, it was likely an easier transition. She’s been studying German for four years at Olathe South High School.

“I still don’t think, even though I took four years, that my German is amazing. It’s intermediate, and that gives me confidence that I’ll do well in school,” she said.

Emma has also been president of the German club and part of the German honor society at her school.

In her time at Shawnee Mission North High School, Anna had never taken German, but she was eager to embrace the challenge. She started her German studies over the summer with Duolingo.

“The more I think about it, I’m like, ‘This is a crazy thing I’ve decided to do.’ But also, I’m really just excited. No matter what kind of experience I have, it’s a test to see if I’m ready for more independence,’” Anna said before she set off overseas. “I’ve kind of been wanting to travel my whole life.”

Though Emma had been eager to do the program for years, the pandemic made her want it more.

“I think just being locked up in my house for a year very much made me want to have something new and have an adventure,” she said.

Emma recently graduated from Olathe South and said her friends are calling her a “super senior” because she’ll be going back to high school. Students can be part of this program as long as they’re between 15 and 18.5 years old on Aug. 1.

Anna just finished her junior year at Shawnee Mission North and plans to transfer credit to have the year in Germany replace her senior year here.

Last year’s group wasn’t able to do their exchange in person and had to settle for a virtual experience with online seminars and German pen pals. This year, the students left in late August.

Normally, the program kicks off with a sort of summer camp where all the scholarship recipients are together while they do their intensive language learning. This year, students went directly to their host families and did that language learning online.

Except for emergency situations, the program does not allow them to return to the U.S. until next summer, at the end of the academic year.

Anna said she’s excited to immerse herself in a new culture.

“I feel like I get to start a new life for 10 months. … I kind of need that, to try something new and not feel like I have to stick to what’s comfortable,” Anna said.

One goal is for students to return home speaking at least conversational, if not fluent, German, but there’s more to it than just words.

“I think they’re going to have a better understanding of German culture and also their own culture as they’re looking on their own life and experiences from another perspective,”Pfohl said.

“They’re also going to gain a lot of independence and maturity throughout the year. Being away from home and having to make some decisions for yourself is something that really helps you figure out who you are as a person.”

German students are also studying all over the United States via the same program this fall.