Zicklin Student to Germany with a Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Fellowship

April 23, 2019

Jessica Arias (Bachelor in Business Administration, international business ’19) is among 75 Americans selected to complete a yearlong fellowship through the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program. She is the third Baruch student to win a CBYX fellowship to Germany.

The Zicklin School of Business student, who is also minoring in finance and French, will study, work, and live with a host family in Germany starting in August 2019. For Arias, this opportunity brings to life one of her dreams.

“One of my goals after I graduate is to live and work abroad,” Arias said. “CBYX stood out because it was the most out of my comfort zone and challenged me. The three-phase process: language, university, and internship, offers diverse experiences that appeal to me. I’m grateful for an opportunity like this to learn German culture, how Germans do business and to serve as an ambassador for the United States in Germany.”

The CBYX program immerses U.S. students to German language and culture with two months of German language training; one semester of classes at a German university, technical school, or professional school, and a three-month internship in their career field.

Studying Abroad: “One of the Best Experiences of my Life”

Previously Arias studied abroad in Lyon, France during fall 2016.

She remembers that semester as“one of the best experiences of my life.” From taking classes at Jean-Moulin University and getting to know a new culture, Arias discovered her passion for international business.

CBYX Fellowship: A Step on the Career Path

Arias is an Ecuadorian-American woman from Queens who is aspiring to become an international management consultant to help U.S. businesses expand globally. She speaks three languages and is eager to learn German.

According to Arias, this CBYX fellowship will be beneficial for her career goals because Germany is “the most economically and politically influential member of the European Union with a government that provides ease for foreign direct investment.”

“No amount of research will compare to the real-life experience of collaborating with German people in their language and connecting with the German market,” She added.

After completing the CBYX program, Arias will receive exclusive membership to the U.S. Department of State’s global International Exchange Alumni community. This alumni network consists of more than 1,600 American and over 2,100 German CBYX program participants. With a 35-year history, the CBYX alumni network includes individuals with expertise in a wide range of career fields, representing all 50 U.S. states, all 16 German Bundeslander, and living all over the world.

About the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, sponsors the CBYX program. Cultural Vistas has administered CBYX for Young Professionals for over 35 years, together with its German partner organization, The Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH. The U.S. Department of State and the Bundestag Administration (WI4) award grants to both organizations to run the program. Read more about the CBYX program in Germany here.

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