Academic Year in Freiburg 20-Year Reunion – June 2019

By Lynn Wolff, AYF 1998-99

On one of the hottest weekends this summer, former students of the 1998-1999 Academic Year in Freiburg gathered in Germany’s sunniest city to celebrate their 20-year reunion. Taking charge of organizing this event-filled (Schauinsland, Schniederlihof, Weinprobe, Stadtbummel) yet relaxing (Schloßberg, Feierling, Paradies, Eiscafé, Eiscafé, Eiscafé) weekend were Gretchen Chojnacki-Herbers (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and Joy Nakfoor (Michigan State University) together with former and current AYF program directors Sabine Habermalz and Ulrich Struve.

Eleven of the over 50 AYF participants from the ‘98-‘99 academic year traveled to Freiburg from as close as Stuttgart and Saarbrücken and as far as Chicago, Oslo, and Pretoria. Some left the kids at home, while others brought them along. Everyone enjoyed the beauty of Freiburg, and the beauty that is reconnecting with old friends. The friendships forged during the Academic Year in Freiburg, as we were reminded through the laughs and tears over the weekend, are indeed very special ones. Plans for a 25-year reunion are already in the works – who wants to wait until 30? – and we hope more AYF-ers will be able to attend the next one!

In the meantime, consider getting in touch and supporting the program through one of the two AYF alumni club chapters (one in Germany and one in the US). Some of the younger alumni started the German chapter “AYF Alumni & Friends” in 2015, and the US chapter “AYF Alumni Association, Inc.” was founded the following year. Both chapters are incorporated as non-profit charitable organizations.