Frances Trafton ’26 is about to embark on a life-changing experience. At the end of July, the German major and physics minor will be heading for twelve months of cultural immersion in Europe, where she will be acting as a “citizen ambassador” for the US.
On July 29, Trafton will be among the sixty-five Americans selected to study and work in Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. The initiative is now in its forty-third year, according to a press release issued by Cultural Vistas, a nonprofit that operates in conjunction with the US State Department to promote international exchanges.
The cohort was chosen from a pool of 420 applicants representing a wide variety of career fields across the US. During their stay in Germany, Trafton and the other participants will attend a two-month intensive language course, study at a German university, and complete an internship, while typically living with German host families.
Meanwhile, a similar number of German participants will spend a year living, studying, and working in the US on a reciprocal exchange. Read more about the program.
(Also read about Frances Trafton’s honors project, which she pursued in the spring 2026 semester with the help of a research award!)
