Wauwatosa West High School sophomore Gina Richter has been awarded an all-expenses-paid summer study trip to the Federal Republic of Germany by the Association of Teachers of German (AATG).

Richter and the other winners will travel to Germany this summer to participate in the study trip, including excursions of cultural and historic interest. Richter is very excited to experience German culture.

“I’ve been fascinated by the culture since I was little and my family is German. Also, all of my siblings took German, so I’ve been surrounded by it from a young age.” It will be Richter’s first visit to Germany.

Richter was one of approximately 23,000 students who competed for the study trip by participating in a nationwide German testing program administered by the AATG.

There are 2 awards – 39 regular study trips lasting three-and-a-half weeks and 5 senior study trips lasting four weeks. Only, 44 students were selected to receive this prestigious prize.

Winning this award demonstrates a mastery of German and a dedication to studying the language. According to West German teacher, Karin Awve, “I’ve only been teaching here for six years and nobody from West has won this award while I have been here, but it does happen. I actually won this award when I went to high school at Wauwatosa East. It is a great achievement and honor to receive this. Gina is an incredibly hard-working student and very deserving of this award.”

Founded in 1926, the AATG is the only national organization representing German teachers at all levels of instruction. The AATG is dedicated to the advancement and improvement of teaching language, literature and culture of German-speaking countries. The study trip awards have been made possible annually for over 50 years by a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany through its embassy in Washington, D.C.

Reporter: Briana Subotich

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