We are pleased to announce Renae George as the May 2023 CBYX U.S. Participant of the Month! Renae, a Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Vocational participant recruited by Nacel Open Door, is hosted by the Stapel family in Tönnishäuschen.
Renae, a vocalist, pianist, and flutist, is using her passion for music to connect with her host community in Germany. While in Bonn studying German at the start of the program, Renae joined her fellow CBYX participants to watch a local swing group perform. When the group played the jazz standard “Just Friends,” a favorite of hers, she asked if she could sing along. She explains, “I probably would have never gone up to them to ask before. I’ve grown so much in confidence this year and am willing to be less in control and make the most of the opportunities I’m presented.”
After that initial performance, Renae continued to sing with the group for three weeks and showed her host family videos of her performances. They encouraged her to hold a concert in her local community, and with their help, Renae did just that. The concert was attended by over one hundred people in her new German host community. One of the attendees at the concert shared that the local children’s choir was losing their leader, so Renae volunteered to fill the role. Under her leadership the children’s choir performed Christmas and Easter concerts and sang both German and English songs.
Renae is organizing another concert for her last week in Germany with members of her host community to celebrate and express her gratitude for the wonderful time she has had in their neighborhood.
Renae also had the opportunity to intern at the Bundestag for two weeks. She sat in on committee meetings, talked to people about cultural differences between the U.S. and Germany, and shadowed her parliamentary sponsor Henning Rehbaum. She says, “The experience opened my eyes to the world of politics. It was interesting seeing the collaboration involved – especially since I was in an office of the minority party.” While she doesn’t think her career will focus on politics, she adds, “I think it’s important for everyday people to be involved in politics as citizens and be able to have conversations about politics with some insight.”
Renae currently has an internship at a secondary school teaching English, German, and music to Germans as well as newly arrived refugees. She finds her experience working with Ukrainian refugees who are learning German to be inspiring, and says, “I have a beautiful relationship with those students.” Renae shares, “I’ve dealt with the frustrations of not being able to communicate since I’m not a native German speaker as well. It’s cool to share that experience and be able to relate to them. I feel like I can be a positive example for them, and they’ve made a lot of progress.”
Congratulations, Renae!
