Rachel Riddell, a graduate of Nashua High School North, was one of 65 young professionals chosen to study and work in Germany as part of the 43rd Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange. Courtesy photo

NASHUA – Rachel Riddell, a graduate of Nashua High School North, was one of 65 young professionals chosen to study and work in Germany as part of the 43rd Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange.

Riddell, who currently attends the University of Southern Maine, said she discovered the CBYX program while studying German in high school.

“I applied to the CBYX high school program but was unfortunately not accepted,” she said.

However, Riddell had two teachers and a myriad of friends who urged her not to give up.

“At the beginning of sophomore year of college, I took another German class and thought about applying to the CBYX young professionals program. I made it through the interview and was accepted into the program.”

Riddell said the program includes three phases beginning with a rigorous German language course. That is followed by the semester-long university phase and a five-month internship.

“I will be taking intensive German classes for the first two months and will then move to take classes at a university,” said Riddell. “During my time there, I will hopefully find an internship after the university phase until the end of the program.”

Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Congress and the German Bundestag, Riddell’s cohort is scheduled to leave for Germany on July 29 and return in June 2027.

During that time, 65 German CBYX participants will spend a year in the U.S. on a reciprocal exchange.

More than 26,000 German and U.S. students have participated in the CBYX since it was established in 1983.