Wednesday, March 05, 2008

proud

yesterday bean got an extremely exciting piece of news: she learned that she was one of two winners in the state of maine of a congress-bundestag scholarship!!! what that means, exactly, is that she gets to spend next year in germany, living with a host family and attending a german gymnasium, and the entire trip is completely free. there are some diplomatic duties involved, too. i think she will meet up with our congressional representative, tom allen, in washington d.c. before she leaves for germany, and she'll have to give presentations before the trip (in english) and after (in german).


why did they choose miss bean? well, here are a few of the criteria:

"Academic merit is a factor, as are flexibility, curiosity, and a desire to make a difference. The objective of the program is to offer this unique opportunity to the students who best represent the diversity of the United States...Applications will be evaluated based on:
  • Evidence of the personal qualities essential for adjustment to another culture, such as flexibility, curiosity, open-mindedness, sense of humor and a desire to be challenged
  • Written and oral communication skills
  • Motivation for a cross-cultural experience"
she presented herself so well in the many essays she wrote for the application, and i'm positive she did the same during her panel interview. she worked really hard on the entire application process! it was so amazing to hear her side of the six thirty a.m. telephone call telling her the good news...it's pretty amazing to realize that we don't have to do any fundraising for her trip next year, too. and we have six whole months before she leaves -- six months to get really and truly used to the idea that she's going.

5 comments:

Mary said...

well, of course they chose her ! (we can see clearly now) I love that they included sense of humor ! proud mana

Anonymous said...

Oh, it's a very good week! We were on pins and needles over here, but in our hearts, we knew she would get it!

Anonymous said...

wow! that is absolutely fantastic! many congratulations from faux-aunt holly

Jeannette said...

Congratulations!! I so happy to see that she's recognized for her brilliance both inside and outside of her family. She deserves such a prestigious prized. Bravo!!

Michael said...

wow!! that is very exciting!!

Congratulations