Bethel Park High School junior Adele Stamenov has been awarded a prestigious, all-expenses-paid summer study trip to Germany after earning national recognition on the 2026 National German Exam.
Stamenov scored in the 95th percentile on the Level 4 exam, sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of German, and was selected as one of just 36 students nationwide to receive the honor. More than 12,000 students participated in the program. Finalists advanced through a competitive process that included written responses in German and English, and an interview conducted by a panel of high school teachers and college professors.
“I didn’t think I would get it, to be honest,” Stamenov said. “I was really excited to get that email, and I am very much looking forward to this opportunity. It all worked out in the end.”
As part of the award, Stamenov will travel to Germany for three weeks during the summer, where she will live with a host family, attend classes at a German secondary school for the first two weeks, visit places of historic significance, and participate in cultural excursions.
“I am most excited about exploring Germany,” Stamenov said. “I have been to Europe, but never Germany, so I am really looking forward to seeing some of the cities I have studied in class for years. It will be incredible to speak German with native speakers and improve my skills.”
She acknowledged some nerves about the experience.
“My biggest concern is that I won’t be able to communicate as well as I’d like,” she laughed. “Leaving home to go to a foreign country alone is daunting for someone my age.”
Stamenov is enrolled in Honors German IV and serves as president of the school’s German Club. She is also a member of the Delta Epsilon Phi German National Honor Society.
Her teacher, Herr Christopher Tobias, praised both her academic ability and leadership.
“I was thrilled to learn that Adele received this scholarship award, because I can’t think of a more deserving individual,” Tobias said. “She is the very model of an ideal German student — her talent and enthusiasm are matched only by her work ethic and self-discipline. She is without question the leader of her class, and her classmates are energized and inspired by her genuine interest in learning and her high regard for the German language and culture.”
Tobias said the opportunity to study abroad is especially meaningful for students.
“I find it especially gratifying anytime a Bethel Park German student earns the chance to live, travel, and study abroad in a German-speaking country,” he said. “Adele is my 16th student to be awarded a travel-study scholarship, and that speaks to the culture of excellence in our German program.”
The study trip, now in its 66th year, is funded through a grant from the Federal Republic of Germany and includes round-trip airfare, housing with a host family, and educational and cultural programming.
Stamenov is the third Bethel Park High School student to receive this particular scholarship, following past recipients Katy Holmes in 2002 and Corinne Hebestreit in 2015.
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