By: Em Acuña
Kennedi Ratcliffe ‘25, a recent Honors College alumna, has been selected to be part of a cohort of 65 other Americans who will travel to Germany this year as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. The 2025-2026 group of CBYX Young Professionals traveled to Germany on July 25, 2025 where they will study and work until their return date in June 2026. CBYX is an exchange program between the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag (Parliament) with the help of non-profit partners like Cultural Vistas.
Ratcliffe joined Appalachian State and the Honors College in Fall 2022 and graduated Spring 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and a Bachelor of Science in political science, as well as a minor in German. When she initially came to App State, Ratcliffe shared she was unsure about whether to continue studying German after high school; however, Dr. Jeff Valbusch, former Dean of the Honors College, persuaded her to keep the door open and connect with various professors in the German language department. She reflected,
I took my first German course during my second semester at App, which eventually resulted in me deciding to add a German minor. All the German professors at App are absolutely amazing, and now, as I look back, I cannot imagine my undergraduate education without German and the role it has played in my academic and professional aspirations.
While in that first German course at App State, Ratcliffe learned about the CBYX for Young Professionals program and was immediately interested in it as a post-graduate opportunity. Ratcliffe’s experience in the Honors College also fostered her desire to spend more time abroad. For her Honors College international education requirement, she participated in the Honors College faculty-led study abroad Culture and Arts in Vienna, during summer 2023. While abroad, she realized she loved immersing herself and learning about the different cultures, but she felt that she wanted more time.
Photo features Kennedi Ratcliffe during her 2023 seminar abroad in Vienna. Photo submitted.
This desire to spend more time abroad is what led her to apply for CBYX in the fall of 2024. While abroad this upcoming year, Ratcliffe will be acting as a representative for the United States. In their press release about Ratcliffe’s participation in the 2025-2026 Young Professionals program, CBYX explained, “Participants are usually placed with host families throughout Germany, where they act as citizen ambassadors of the United States, promoting a positive image of the U.S. abroad, creating lifelong friendships, and professional connections to enhance German-American relations.” For the first couple of months abroad, Ratcliffe will study at a language school in Radolfzell, and then she will move to Münster for her final placement, where she will study at Universität Münster for the fall semester and then complete an internship during her spring semester before she returns to the U.S. next summer.
Ratcliffe shared that she was most excited to fully immerse herself in a new culture and form deep connections with both the people and communities with which she will be living. This is reflected in one of her personal goals, which is to explore the country and Europe as much as possible. She stated:
I have wanted to go to Germany since I took my first German course in high school, and so although it took 5 years, I am finally going.
She is also looking forward to developing her German language skills and interacting with native speakers and in situations where she can push herself to become more comfortable with the language.
Top photo features Kennedi Ratcliffe. Photo submitted.
