Competing against 349 schools and 38,865 students throughout the United States and Canada, Whitewater High emerged as one of seven schools in North America to receive the Goethe-Institut Award of Excellence in German.

As one of the winning schools, Whitewater received the grand prize: an all expenses paid trip for one student to attend a Young Learner’s Course in Germany, sponsored by the Goethe-Institut. Lee Frye, a junior currently in German II, was selected as the deserving student of the trip.

German teacher Candace McCollough Dixon organized the contest, which began in the fall when students watched a video titled “Greenagers: Battling Climate Change in Germany,” and completed a multiple-choice quiz on the content. All students enrolled in world language courses were eligible to participate. Results of the quizzes were used by the Goethe-Institut to determine the winning schools.

Whitewater students who scored a 100 on the quiz were eligible to participate in an essay competition to determine the winner of the trip. Students were asked to explain why they should be chosen and how they would support the German program at the school. A committee read and scored each essay with Frye emerging as the overall winner.

Frye will travel to Germany in July. He will select the language course and city for his studies.

The Goethe-Institut was founded in 1951 to promote a wider knowledge of the German language and foster cultural cooperation between Germany and other countries. It is a non-profit, publicly funded organization involved in a variety of cultural relations activities. With 144 branches in 80 countries, including seven in the United States and two in Canada, the Goethe-Institut plays an important role in providing access to German language and culture all over the world.