Instead of attending classes at Newtown High School when school begins later this month, rising junior Genevieve Kelly will be in Frasdorf, Germany, thanks to a scholarship.

The Sandy Hook resident was selected for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) scholarship, which funds an academic year of high school study and cultural immersion in Germany for a select group of American students, according to CBYX.

Genevieve attended an orientation for the program in Washington, DC, in early August before leaving for Germany on August 10. Prior to leaving for the orientation, the Sandy Hook resident said she first learned of the scholarship program from a cousin, who studied in a similar program in Russia.

From past trips with her family and through family connections, Genevieve said she thought Germany would be a “cool” place to study.

She first applied for the scholarship last August. In preparation for studying in Germany, Genevieve said she worked with NHS to arrange lining up her course work while abroad. Luckily, Genevieve reflected, NHS’s online courses will allow greater connections with the courses she will study in Germany.

Genevieve said she is excited to learn the German language. She brushed up on some of the language with books from her grandmother — Brunhilde Dundas, who moved to America from Germany in the mid-1960s — and through an app called Duolingo.

Genevieve’s mother, Marie, said the entire family — father Patrick, older brother Karl, and little sister Alison — is excited for and proud of Genevieve.

The CBYX program is funded jointly by the US Congress and the German Bundestag as a symbol of the special economic and political relationship between America and Germany. Genevieve is one of only 250 students nationwide to receive the scholarship. While in Germany, she will be living with a German host family and attending a local high school, according to CBYX.

Genevieve was selected for CBYX, “for her demonstrated academic qualifications, cultural open-mindedness, and outstanding motivation. [She] will serve as a ‘youth ambassador,’ representing the United States while participating in educational, cultural, and civic events while overseas. Past participants have had opportunities to meet with the president of the German Bundestag, as well as leaders of the Bundestag and members of the US Congress,” a release from CBYX reads.

Genevieve said intercultural learning is important in the “current political climate.”

“No matter where you go... We really aren’t all that different,” she reflected.

The US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers the US CBYX program through several implementing partners. In the northeast United States, CBYX is implemented by AFS-USA, a worldwide nonprofit student exchange organization, according to CBYX.

To learn more about CBYX, including information about eligibility and how to apply for the 2020-21 academic year, see its website, usagermanyscholarship.org. Prospective host families and schools can learn more about hosting an exchange student or bringing intercultural learning into their classroom with AFS-USA, the administering organization in the northeast United States, by visiting afsusa.org.