Deer Lakes junior Madison Rethage among 250 selected for Congress-Bundestag program

Deer Lakes junior Madison Rethage was running typical errands last weekend, heading to the pet store to buy supplies for her guinea pigs, Jacques and Pierre.

“My mom happened to check her phone and saw an email for a scholarship I had been waiting on,” the 16-year-old said. “She wanted to wait until we got home, but I was like, ‘Open it!’ ”

The email, from the U.S. Department of State and AFS-USA, was life-changing, Rethage said.

She was selected for the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Scholarship to study in Germany for the 2024-25 academic year.

Rethage is among 250 students selected from across the country. The award is highly competitive and administered through an application process.

“I was so excited, I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “We ran into the house, yelling to the rest of my family. It’s a really special opportunity.”

CBYX is an exchange program of the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag (Parliament).

It is jointly funded and was created to foster mutual understanding and strengthen ties between the two countries.

“I’ve always loved traveling,” said Rethage, who already has globe-trotted to an impressive number of locales, such as England, Scotland, France, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.

“I have a love of other cultures, thanks to my parents.”

Lindsay Rethage, Madison’s mother, said she’s without reservation because of her daughter’s focus and determination.

“She’s not going in blind,” Lindsay said. “There’s a curriculum that all the kids have to follow, with deadlines for learning the language and mandatory webinars and workshops. There is a cultural integration months before she takes off.

“She’s adamant that she wants this opportunity, and I’m confident in her strength.”

Rethage, who studies the veterinary science program at the A.W. Beattie Career Center and volunteers at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium, will jet off Aug. 8 and return in June 2025.

Her father, Joe, said Madison’s first month in the foreign country will be spent at immersion camp, where she will dorm with other students in Germany’s second-largest city, Hamburg, which has a population of more than 5 million people.

There, she will participate in language learning and cultural training to gain a better understanding of the culture, language and everyday life.

After being acclimated, Rethage will be placed with a host family for the remainder of the school year.

Rethage hasn’t been told which German city she’ll spend the year in, nor has she gotten the chance to meet her host family online.

“I don’t have any preference where I land. I’m just happy to be going,” Rethage said.

As a CBYX scholar, Rethage will attend a German high school.

The Congress-Bundestag program, founded in 1983, also includes cultural excursions to nearby places of historic interest.

It is the program’s mission to help students gain new perspectives on global affairs and German social, economic and political life. It also lends itself to growing teens’ independence, empowerment and global citizenship.

More than 26,000 students have participated in the program.

Deer Lakes Principal Ryan Aleski said the school community is excited for Rethage.

“This is an incredible opportunity for Madison to have a truly unique high school experience in another country and culture,” Aleski said. “We look forward to Madison sharing her experiences with our staff and students when she returns to Deer Lakes High School in her senior year.”

In the weeks leading up to her departure, Rethage plans to keep hitting the books to hone her German-speaking skills.

“As of right now, I’m good at speaking it but I’m not the best,” Rethage said. “Of course, I’m a little hesitant to leave and I really hope I get adjusted to the culture well, but I can’t wait to try new food and travel around.

“I’m just really excited. I’d probably leave now if someone asked me to.”