June 24, 2008 – Although Kevin Angstadt doesn’t consider himself to be fluent in German, he certainly demonstrated his mastery of the language in earning a three-week all-expenses-paid study trip to Germany this summer.

The high school sophomore was one of more than 26,000 students nationwide, including 107 Shaker High School students, who competed for the prestigious award by participating in the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) National German Exam earlier this spring.

Angstadt scored in the 95th percentile on the exam—putting him in the running for a study trip award. After an extensive interview process, he was one of 39 participants selected by the National Committee of the AATG to receive an award.

“This is a high honor and an extraordinary achievement,” said Foreign Language Supervisor Galina Kats. “Kevin is part of an elite group of students nationwide to be chosen for such an award.”

While he’s never been to Germany, Angstadt said he’s traveled abroad before to visit relatives in France. He admitted that he’s a little nervous about his trip next week, but he’s also very excited to live with his host family, attend classes and go on various excursions—including a five-day trip to Berlin.

“I’m looking forward to being immersed in the culture,” Angstadt said. “I plan to focus on assimilating, rather than stressing out about various aspects of the culture.”

So far, he’s been in e-mail contact with his host brother, who lives in Nuremberg along with his twin sister, parents and two dogs. Because their conversations have been conducted primarily in German, Angstadt admitted he had to turn to an online dictionary to help with some of the translation.

Angstadt said he has already expanded his vocabulary through the application process, which required him to write a letter to his potential host family in German and answer several questions about himself and his cultural knowledge in German.

“I’m very appreciative of Herr Hutson and Frau Muldoon for everything, including helping me throughout the application process,” said Angstadt about two of the district’s German teachers. “I’m looking forward to going, and I expect to learn a lot while I’m there.”