“In Europe, I’m automatically the American. That switch has been really enlightening.”

The fellows of Atlantik-Brücke’s New Bridge Program add new ideas and viewpoints to the transatlantic debate. In this video, Catt Phan, a communications manager from Fountain Valley, California, shares her experience as a Vietnamese immigrant, talks about what she hopes to take away from the New Bridge Program, and elaborates on how traveling abroad has changed her perception of herself as an American. Coming to Europe has been enlightening she says: “Even when I am challenging the status quo in America and pushing for more social change, I am also humbled by the idea that I am a representative of the United States.”

With its New Bridge Program, Atlantik-Brücke seeks to garner interest in Europe among more Americans, spark new ideas and continue to build a strong transatlantic community. The driven young Americans that visit Europe on an intensive 10-day study program are raising important questions, enriching the dialogue and advocating change, while getting a chance to immerse themselves in Germany’s and Europe’s social, foreign policy, business and cultural debates.