On March 22, Mia Haines, a junior at John Adams High School, found out that she was accepted into the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program (CBYX). This exchange program will send her to Germany for the entirety of her senior year at no cost at all, paying for all expenses. CBYX only accepts a small percentage of applicants into the program, this year awarding it to only 150 applicants in the United States. Haines is the only applicant to be accepted in the state of Indiana. 

When she discovered that she was accepted into the program, Haines was in the middle of lacrosse practice for the South Bend Bears. She says, “Well, my mom texted me, ‘I told you so,’ and I was so confused since I didn’t know what she meant until I checked my email and that’s when I found out. I was so shocked just because I didn’t think I’d get in.” She continued, “I called my dad and emailed some of my teachers, like Frau Kazmierzak and Mr. Karczewski, all while on the lacrosse field.” 

Haines has been taking German classes since the beginning of this school year with Ms. Kazmierzak, known as Frau Kazmierzak to her students, along with being the founder of the German club at Adams. She hopes that this exchange year will give her the opportunity to improve her German, as well as to meet new people and explore new hobbies. Frau Kazmierzak expressed her feelings about Mia’s acceptance into the program, saying, “I am very proud of Mia’s accomplishment. The Congress Bundestag Exchange Program is a great opportunity. In my 38 years of teaching German, I have had only two other students win the scholarship.” Kazmierzak continued, “I am looking forward to hearing Mia’s German when she comes back. She will have many interesting stories to tell. Ich gratuliere! Congratulations to Mia.”

The application for this program opened in late October and was due at the start of December, so Haines dedicated an immense amount of time to all the paperwork and requirements: “It was a really long process. After the first application was due, people who were semi-finalists in the program had to fill out another application in January. Then it took another couple of months, until March, to find out if we actually got in.” Haines then expressed her feelings about her year abroad, saying, “I’m excited but I’m also really nervous, since I won’t be around any family and I’ll be in a new place. I know it will be scary, but I can’t wait for the opportunities this program has to offer.” Mia is an avid member of many organizations in the school, such as the aforementioned German club, the National Honor Society, Mental Health Advisory, and JAVA, as well as a player for the SB Bears girls lacrosse team. She hopes that she will be as involved in school and sports in Germany as she is here.