West Bloomfield High Teens Win Scholarship to Study in Germany

Teen ambassadors for the United States – that is the role that West Bloomfield High School (WBHS) students Nick Simon, 17, and Jack Brenner, 15, will be fulfilling next school year.

These two young men are the first students from WBHS to be awarded the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship. They will spend the next academic year in Germany, each living with a German host family in a city that is still to be determined.

Youth For Understanding, which administers these scholarships in Michigan, presented the awards at a ceremony at school with WBHS principal Thomas Shelton, who said that 25 years ago, he won the same award and then completed a year as an exchange student in Germany. He told the students, “This award will change your life forever.”

Nick Simon is a senior and the son of Mike and Peggy Simon. His exchange year will be a gap year between high school and college (likely attending the Air Force Academy upon his return).  Jack Brenner is a sophomore and the son of Barbara Stanhouse-Brenner and Martin Brenner and will complete his junior year in Germany.  

Neither student speaks German, but they are ready to get started.

Both had to undergo a rigorous screening process before receiving the full-ride CBYX Scholarships through Youth For Understanding. They wrote a series of essays, filled out questionnaires, collected recommendations and participated in interviews to be considered for the program.

"I wrote six essays on various topics - being an exchange student, how I dealt with failure, about family. Part of that happened to include my positive experiences having been a host brother for exchange students many times," Simon said.

Now, after completing the last of the paperwork, the WBHS students are waiting to find out where in Germany each will spend the next year. Their families will also be preparing for the year abroad.

"We are very excited for Jack, but we are going to miss him," said Barbara Stanhouse-Brenner. "Fortunately he will have parents in Germany too.  The month-long initial immersion program will help him learn the language and culture of Germany."

“I want a taste of adventure. No, scratch that. I want a life FULL of adventure!," Jack Brenner said. "I want to explore what the world has to offer, and not settle for “good enough.” I want to take risks and face challenges.  I also want to be able to represent my country in the best light possible.”

Simon adds, "I see myself as a representative of the United States.  I'm going to show them what America is all about, and learn from them, to combat stereotypes." Because of his experiences as a host brother, he thinks he will be able to get off to a great start in his “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

"This is such a great opportunity for Nick," said his mother, Peggy Simon.  As host mom to nine YFU exchange students, she has seen the vast amount of personal growth that occurs during the exchange. "In the time in which we live, the population is more diverse; everything is more global. This is such a good experience and highly sought after by colleges as well."

While Simon and Brenner may be the first students from WBHS to receive the CBYX Scholarship, the program has served more than 17,000 young men and women since its creation in 1983.

CBYX is jointly funded by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag (legislature), and began on the 300th anniversary of the first German immigration to the United States.  It is administered in Michigan by Youth For Understanding, one of the world’s oldest and largest exchange programs. More information can be found at www.yfu-usa.org.

--West Bloomfield School District press release