Ava Chessum ’24 earns Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Fellowship

Describe what you will be doing thanks to the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) fellowship—and where you will be.

Starting in July 2025, I’ll be in Germany for just over 11 months! The CBYX program is broken up into three phases: we begin with 2 months of intensive German language classes, then move into a semester of study at a German university (with some classes taught in German), and close with an internship of our choosing. The program selects Americans from across the country with a wide range of professional interests, with the greater goal of promoting mutual exchange and allowing fellows to learn about the ways their intended career field may function differently in Germany. I’m particularly excited to learn about different kinds of art collecting institutions in Germany, from museums and archives to commercial galleries and hospitals. The program emphasizes flexibility and adaptability, and I feel excited by the possibility of making a brand-new place home for a year… I’m most looking forward to exploring a new city and building local connections, routines, hobbies, and traditions!  

What specifically about this fellowship appealed to you? 

CBYX is unique from other programs I’ve heard about for the specific language intensive they offer at the beginning of the program. Their lack of a formal language requirement made the program possible for me, as someone with experience learning Spanish and French, but not German. The explicit link between language proficiency and cultural ambassadorialship also appealed to me; I’m not just going to be an American speaking English abroad with the assumption that other people will understand me, but will have made a conscious choice and effort to learn and communicate in German. I was also very drawn to the professional development element of the fellowship, both because I am eager to learn from the differences in German arts and culture (and bring learnings back to the US) and make international connections. 

How did Oberlin shape or influence you to pursue this fellowship?

My time at Oberlin definitely gave me the tools I needed to succeed in a program like this, namely one that's so self-directed. Specifically, I’d cite my art history honors thesis as an experience that prepared me to embark on a fellowship like this one: through designing a year-long research process, working with advisors, pursuing big questions … I gained confidence in my research and writing skills certainly, but also my academic independence and delivery on big goals. This was the first time I had independently designed and carried out a project of such scale. Similarly, working at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, and hopping onto projects that interested me, gave me a greater sense of my professional interests and goals.

How does pursuing this align with your post-college life and career goals? 

I’m hoping that this fellowship (the classes, language experience, and internship) will allow me to hone in on a more specific idea of the subfield I want to pursue, as well as gain an increasingly global and comparative perspective on how the arts and cultural sector functions outside of America. I’m equally passionate about collection management, activation, and engagement as museum education and administration. This fellowship will give me insights into the way that other countries approach the arts and cultural heritage, and I hope to bring these learnings back with me at the culmination of the program.

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