Congratulations Nacel Open Door Star, Ella Grouws!
Nacel Open Door (NOD) is excited to introduce one of our amazing Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) alumni students and a Nacel Open Door Star, Ella Grouws, of Decorah, Iowa! Ella was one of our CBYX Vocational scholarship winners for 2023-2024 and returned to the U.S. in June.
The CBYX Vocational Scholarship provides an opportunity for American high school graduating seniors to spend the year after graduation in Germany. While there, students learn German, go to a German high school, and work in German internships, all while living with a host family. U.S. students can learn more about the program now, and look for the 2025-2026 application to open in early 
September.
Ella was aware of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange program for high school students because her older sister participated in an earlier exchange to Germany. Ella followed in her sister’s footsteps and was also awarded an exchange opportunity through the CBYX Youth Exchange. However, her program was cancelled because of the Covid pandemic, and Ella felt that her dream had been lost. On a whim, Ella was doing some research and found out about the CBYX Vocational Scholarship program and now she feels that it was fate that she was unable to do the earlier program because this experience solidified her goals and plans going into college.
An important part of the CBYX Vocational Scholarship is the internships in Germany. Ella was interested in the healthcare field, but didn’t know what she wanted to do in college, so applying directly to a major was intimidating. Ella said, “I love learning, but didn’t want to do another year of high school. Internships in Germany could be catered to my interests and were very experience-focused.” Ella ended up doing three internships while she was in Germany, and although she was initially interested more in the medical field, after an internship at a dental practice, she is now planning to double major in German and Biology on the pre-dental pathway.
Ella’s first internship was in a dental practice because another medical one fell through due to a transportation roadblock. Ella said, “Originally, I was going to do this internship temporarily, but after the second week I was thinking, oh my gosh I love this and wanted to stay there.” In Germany the internships are often very hands-on, and interns are able to really try things because there is a culture of apprenticeship. Ella was a Sterile Assistant in the clinic, participating in operations, taking x-rays, doing impressions, helping put in crowns and doing dental cleanings. She felt like a full employee by the end of the three months, and even received an offer to stay and work part time while going to college.
Ella felt like she was luckiest girl in her 2023-2024 cohort. Ella spoke no German going into the program, and when she arrived in Bonn for her two months of intensive language learning, she found that her host family spoke almost no English. However, they had an 8-year-old girl and Ella found that her host sister treated it as a game to help Ella learn the basics. While it was intimidating at first, being in a kind, open family environment made Ella feel comfortable making mistakes and it helped her learn the fundamentals right away. When she moved to her long-term host family in Ratigen-Hoesel (near Dusseldorf and Essen) she found her language skills were much improved and she had another warm and welcoming family with a sister
the same age as well as
another host sister. Having the support of her host families was a great benefit, and it helped Ella learn the culture, language and to navigate the internship process. Through her internships, choir and soccer club Ella made friends and built lifelong connections. Ella continues talking daily with her host sister, and recently texted her host dad on his birthday. Ella says they are “great people who made the biggest difference while I was in Germany.”
Reflecting on what has changed since returning from Germany in June, Ella has found that the biggest change is her confidence in doing new things. Before she left, Ella was happy doing things she knew she was good at such as school, socializing and working at jobs she usually got through personal connections. But she had a lot of nervousness about trying new things that she could potentially be bad at doing. While living in Germany she had to make a decision to either give it her best effort, or miss an opportunity to try something new. In the CBYX Vocational Scholarship program the students are expected and encouraged to try, fail and grow, and these experiences are shared and reflected on during their mid-year seminar. Ella now has the skills and confidence that will help her in college and beyond.
Ella found that Germans have a lot of misconceptions about Americans, especially at the high school she attended. She had a lot of open conversations about their assumptions about Americans (super patriotic, gun-loving, lazy, and that school is super easy) and worked to reconstruct how they see America. Thank you, Ella, for being a NOD star and a standout U.S. Ambassador! Congratulations for successfully completing the program and good luck as you head off to college in California.
Nacel Open Door is proud to administer the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Vocational Scholarship. To learn more about this great gap-year opportunity, visit www.nacelopendoor.org/cbyx.
