BANGOR – Stephanie Winchell, 17, a student at John Bapst Memorial High School student, is one of 70 national recipients of the AFS Congress-Bundestag Scholarship.

She met with members of the staff of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe in Washington as she prepared to spend her senior year in high school in a 10-month study abroad program in Germany. Winchell is one of three recipients of the scholarship from Maine.

Students are selected for the program on the basis of academic and extracurricular performance. Winchell will spend a month in an intensive German language program before being placed with a family in Dresden.

Winchell’s interests include foreign languages and politics.

“Students like Stephanie who take an interest in world affairs will be the leaders of Maine and the nation tomorrow,” said Snowe. “With her energy, drive and enthusiasm, I am sure Stephanie will achieve great success, not just in the coming year, but in the years ahead.”

The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program is jointly funded by the German Bundestag and the U.S. Congress through the U.S. State Department.

Winchell and the other participants left for Germany on Sept. 4. She is the daughter of Wallace and Beatrix Winchell of Bangor.