Auburn University junior awarded fellowship for year-long exchange program in Germany

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Auburn University student Jay Wall, a junior from Birmingham in the College of Liberal Arts majoring in political science and minoring in German, has been awarded the Congress-Bundestag Exchange for Young Professionals Fellowship.

This intensive international program, funded by the German Bundestag and U.S. Department of State, selects 75 American and 75 German young professionals between the ages of 18-24 to spend one year in each other’s country, studying, interning and living with host families.

This is the fifth consecutive year an Auburn student has been named a Congress-Bundestag Exchange Fellow.

While in Germany, Wall will attend a two-month intensive German language course in the city of Radolfzell, located on the shores of Lake Constance in southwest Germany. Following his language training, Wall will study at the University of Cologne and then complete a five-month internship with a local city or county government in his career field of political science. During his time abroad, Wall will have the opportunity to learn about everyday German life from a variety of perspectives.

“I am excited to apply my German language skills and understanding of political science and public administration working in local government in Germany next year. My goal is to foster cooperation and goodwill between our two countries. I am grateful for my professors, Anja Werth in the Department of Foreign Languages and Paul Harris in the Department of Political Science, for all of their support and encouragement since I arrived on campus my freshman year.”

In summer 2018, Wall interned with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office in the Restitution Recovery Unit, and, in summer 2017, he served as an intern with the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office in the Elections Division.

“I have had the pleasure of being his instructor in several German courses and have watched the progress he has made over the semesters,” said Anja Werth, lecturer in Auburn’s Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures.

“He is very dedicated to learning not only the German language, but also about the culture and history of Germany. I greatly value all that he brought to the classroom—dedication to teamwork, problem-solving skills, perceptive questions and motivation. In addition, Jay did not keep his contact with German to just the classroom. He has come to me for advice on ways to independently improve and expand his knowledge and has also actively sought contact with German and Swiss exchange students here at Auburn.

“I am confident that Jay will be a great representative for Auburn in Germany and will, hopefully, share his experiences with us and our students upon his return. I wish him all the best.”

The Congress-Bundestag Exchange Fellowship is a reciprocal scholarship program. German participants study at U.S. colleges in the fall and work at local businesses in the spring, all while living with an American host throughout the year.

Conceived by members of the United States Congress and the German Parliament, or Bundestag, the Congress-Bundestag Fellowship is financially supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State under the authority of the Fulbright-Hays Act, and by the German Bundestag.

For more information about the program, contact Ken Thomas in the Honors College at kdt0011@auburn.edu.

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The College of Liberal Arts is the intellectual heart of the university and one of the largest colleges on Auburn's campus. The College continues its long tradition of quality education, instruction, and outreach in a number of outstanding departments. The College of Liberal Arts is composed of the School of Communication and Journalism, the University College, and twelve departments which are divided into four academic areas: fine arts, humanities, communications, and social sciences. Our graduates hold a strong record of industry employment and/or acceptance into graduate schools and training programs, both here and abroad.