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Maxwell Meyers, a Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES Abroad) participant from Cataula, GA, has been named December’s American Abroad Student of the Month.  

Maxwell is a Early College Academy of Columbus student and is currently studying abroad for an academic year in Skopje, Macedonia. Maxwell is enthusiastic about learning about his host culture, making Macedonian friends, bonding with his host family, pursuing his academics, and sharing his own culture. In short, Maxwell has dedicated himself to the mission of YES Abroad and to that of being a cultural ambassador.

In addition to meeting the NOVA International Schools’ high academic standards, Maxwell has joined the basketball team, Model UN, and many other school activities such as the TEDxYouth@NOVASchools conference. Maxwell contributed over 75 hours as an organizer for the first TEDxYouth Conference ever held in Macedonia, which drew over one hundred participants.

Maxwell is active with the YES Inbound Alumni Association, participating in alumni-organized monthly meetings, projects, and volunteer activities. He has also given presentations at a local high school, Gimnazija Josip Broz Tito, on a number of aspects of American culture; worked with a living library project where participants represent a book and tell a story; helped with YES Inbound program recruitment; and made Halloween decorations and masks with Roma youth.

Maxwell has fully embraced the YES Abroad program. In all aspects of his exchange, he has gone above and beyond to learn about Macedonia and share his own culture as well.

Congratulations, Maxwell!