Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) Program alumni from 2000- 2001 reconnected years after their exchange to Germany and are engaged to be married. Matt Fisher and Kristina Wollaeger met as excited new exchange students with the ASSE International CBYX Program in 2000. They both traveled to Washington, D.C. for a pre-departure orientation to prepare for the upcoming adventure they were about to embark on to Germany.

Though Wollaeger says they were interested in one another from the start, the two remained friends and kept in touch throughout their exchange year. They concentrated on enjoying the experience of living in a new culture and meeting new people.They had opportunities to see one another throughout their exchange year on trips organized by GIVE Germany.

After returning to the United States in 2001, they spoke a couple of times but then lost contact. In the fall of 2002, as Wollaeger was beginning her college career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, they reconnected. Fisher planned a weekend trip to visit Wollaeger, as he was only living four hours away in Minneapolis.

The two have been together even since that weekend visit. They endured a year of long-distance romance until Fisher relocated to Milwaukee in 2003, where he finished his Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Philosophy at Marquette University. Wollaeger also graduated from the University of Wisconsin earning a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and German Linguistics.

In the summer of 2007, Fisher proposed to Wollaeger after she had moved to Milwaukee in 2006. They are currently planning their wedding and will get married this July. Wollaeger says, “We are so excited for the big day and so grateful to ASSE and the Congress- Bundestag Scholarship program for giving us the opportunity of a lifetime and for introducing us to each other! You just never know where life will take you and who you will meet along the way. Vielen Dank ASSE!”