From New Trier To Old Trier, High School Junior To Jet To Germany
WINNETKA, IL — A New Trier High School student is set to take a three-week, all-expense paid trip to Germany next summer through the American Association of Teachers of German and the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst National German Exam Scholarship.
Katie Rogers, a junior, scored in the 90th percentile on the 2024 Level 3 National German Exam, which saw participation from more than 15,000 students across the country.
She then applied for the scholarship by submitting essays in both German and English, interviewing with a committee of German teachers and professors and passing the Avant STAMP 4S Language Proficiency Test.
"Katie is an incredibly caring and kind student with high social-emotional intelligence," said Venera Stabinsky, her current German teacher at New Trier. "She is one of the many shining beacons at New Trier."
Rogers will join 43 other outstanding German students from across the United States for the trip, scheduled for summer 2025. They will be supervised by a local program director and an American high school German teacher.
The experience includes round‐trip airfare from New York to Germany, a homestay with a host family and excursions to culturally and historically significant sites.
During the trip, Rogers will attend an academic high school, known as a Gymnasium, and travel to Berlin and Bonn.
Rogers' former German teacher, Katja Steen, echoed Stabinsky's praise, noting that Rogers is known for consistently pushing her limits and constantly striving to improve.
Now in its 64th year, the scholarship program is made possible through a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany.
The AATG, founded in 1926, represents German teachers at all educational levels and is dedicated to advancing the teaching of German language, literature and culture.
The Pädagogischer Austauschdienst, or Pedagogical Exchange Service, is a branch of the German Foreign Office.
To be eligible, students must not live in a household where German is regularly spoken or have ever spent more than two weeks in a German-speaking country after the age of 6.
