Two Orono High students to study in Germany for year

ORONO – Two Orono High School students will leave in September to study for one year in Germany.

Nadja Blagojevic, 17, and Mollie Smith, 16, are the recipients of Congress-Bundestag Scholarships. The scholarships were awarded by AFS, a worldwide, non-profit, volunteer-based organization that works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international exchanges and intercultural learning experiences.

Congress-Bundestag Scholarships are full scholarships and require that recipients have a grade-point average of 3.0 or better.

Blagojevic and Smith will gain first-hand experience of German life by living with host families, attending high school and participating in family, school and community life. In addition to attending high school and participating in daily life in Germany, students also take part in special activities such as receptions and meetings with German and American government officials, and cultural and touring activities.

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program, jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Department of State, is one of the essential elements of the United States-Germany relationship, officials said. It is designed to strengthen the deep ties of friendship and understanding between the people of both countries.

“I am so pleased I am being given this opportunity to enrich my life and my future as well as that of my family,” Smith said. “I am very excited.”

Blagojevic and Smith will serve as youth ambassadors of the United States, share new perspectives with their German hosts, and help to build a greater understanding of the United States and its diversity.

“Because I am always doing, exploring, asking, I am pretty good about settling into new situations,” Blagojevic said. “I am so curious to see how life will be in Germany, I can hardly wait to see for myself.”

AFS Intercultural Programs (formerly the American Field Service) offers 125 different yearlong, semester, summer and community service programs.

Established in 1947 by surviving World War I and World War II ambulance drivers, AFS works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools and communities through a global and volunteer partnership.

Those interested in learning more about AFS programs abroad or the Congress-Bundestag Scholarships, or who would like to serve as a host family to an outstanding young person from another country arriving this August, call AFS at (800) AFS-INFO or visit the AFS Web site: www.afs.org/usa.