Helena Middleton, who graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Bachelor’s of Science in Geography in 2022, was awarded a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) fellowship to study abroad in Germany this August.

Since 2012, the University’s Honors College has hosted six CBYX German participants. Middleton is the first University student to win a CBYX scholarship in over 20 years.

“I'm particularly excited to really focus on speaking the language and improving my skills,” Middleton said. “I hope to achieve fluency during my year abroad. I'm also excited to explore nature in Germany and experience several different natural environments while I'm there. This opportunity means a lot to me – I fought really hard to get it and had the support of several great people at the University, like Jason Ludden and my German Professor, Roger Gray. He and others helped to strengthen my application and prepare me for the interview.”

Now in its 40th year, the CBYX is a competitive fellowship sponsored by the German government and U.S. State Department that sends 75 Americans between the ages of 18.5 and 24 to Germany and 75 Germans of the same ages to the U.S. each year for 11 months of college study, internships, volunteer service and language school.

Founded in 1983 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first German emigrants arriving in the United States, the program is the longest-running bilateral young professional exchange program between the U.S. and Germany. Over 30,000 alumni from the CBYX high school, vocational, and young professional formats have completed the program since, and it remains one of the most prestigious public diplomacy programs an American college student can participate in.

“I first heard about it last year while I was taking a German class,” Middleton said. “A student from Germany who was here on the program studying at the University introduced it to my class. The program starts in the beginning of August with the language school portion. This lasts two months. I will then hopefully be studying in the field of Physical Geography, specifically Ecohydrology or Environmental Science.”