Montgomery County Community College 2024 graduate Katharine Boyle of Glenside is one of only 74 Americans selected from a pool of 500 young professionals to study and work in Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) for Young Professionals program.

CBYX is a bilateral exchange program of the U.S. Congress and German Bundestag (Parliament). The program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and non-profit partners Cultural Vistas.

Boyle is thrilled to participate in the cultural program.

“When I received the email, I dropped my phone in shock,” said Boyle, who graduated from MCCC in May with an associate degree in Bakery & Pastry Arts.  “The program offers so many great opportunities.”

Having researched various exchange programs, Boyle, 20, chose to apply to CBYX to study German baking and pastry arts and to serve as a cultural ambassador, allowing her to “learn a new culture while sharing hers.”

She credits MCCC, its Baking & Pastry Arts Program and Baking & Pastry Assistant Professor Joseph Jacques for honing her baking skills and with helping her get selected for the exchange program.

“Professor Joe Jacques was the primary teacher for all my classes, and he even wrote a letter of recommendation for me,” she said. “He’s been very helpful and supportive.”

Boyle’s interest in studying abroad began in high school, but her passion for baking started much earlier. As a preschooler, she helped her brother, mother and grandmother in the kitchen.

“By the time I was 8 or 9, I was baking on my own, experimenting with recipes I found on the internet,” she said. “At 13, I had my own online Christmas cookie business.”

Her first part-time job at a bakery during high school solidified her decision to pursue baking as a career.

At age 16, Boyle started taking online dual enrollment classes at MCCC while being homeschooled. Upon graduating from high school in 2022, she enrolled in MCCC’s Baking & Pastry Program.

“I picked Montco because it is local, and I could commute, and it’s also affordable,” she said. “But what I liked about it is the student life. Other schools did not have student activities.”

While at MCCC, Boyle became a member of the Alpha Kappa Zeta chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society for two-year colleges. During her second year, she served as vice president of fellowship. She attended monthly meetings and participated in service projects. Both PTK advisors, Dr. Catherine Parzynski and Dr. Cathy Hoult Shewring, provided useful advice, helping Boyle both professionally and personally.

In addition to PTK, Boyle also participated in the Hospitality Institute’s Food Recovery Program. With this initiative, Boyle and other culinary arts students helped Food Sustainability Fellow Jennifer Fanega, the first-year fellow, create and package meals for MCCC’s food pantry using excess food from baking and culinary courses.

While working on her degree, Boyle had the opportunity to apply her skills and what she learned  at the William Penn Inn, where she worked part-time.

“Attending Montco helped me to get a job at a fine-dining restaurant,” she said, noting that used the same high-quality equipment in her classes that they used at the restaurant. “A lot of Montco culinary students work there.”

When applying for the CBYX program in the fall of 2023, Boyle was grateful for the support she received from MCCC’s Career Services.

“For the online application, I had to submit my resume and transcripts and  write five short essays,” Boyle said. “Kimberly McPoyle in Career Services helped me with writing my resume and essays. She also gave me interview tips.”

The interview tips served Boyle well when she was selected for the CBYX interview. She was interviewed by four panelists in both a group and individually.

The 2024-2025 CBYX Young Professionals cohort departed for Germany on July 26 and returns to the U.S. in June 2025. Participants come from a wide variety of career fields from across the United States.

In Germany, Boyle will attend a two-month intensive language course, study at a German university and complete an internship in the field of baking and pastry arts. Participants are usually placed with host families throughout Germany, where they act as citizen ambassadors of the United States, promoting a positive image of the U.S. abroad, creating lifelong friendships, and professional connections to enhance German-American relations.

“I feel that my professors, advisors and experience at Montco are definitely responsible for the opportunities I’ve had and what I have achieved,” said Boyle, who is eagerly anticipating this next chapter in her baking journey.

MCCC’s new state-of-the-art Hospitality Institute is slated to open this fall on the College’s Blue Bell Campus. The 24,000+ square-foot facility will feature innovative programming, including special labs for chocolate, pasta and fermentation science. The Hospitality Institute’s certificate and associate degree programs include Baking & Pastry Arts, Culinary Arts and Tourism & Hospitality Management. For more details, visit qqzhangui.com/hospitality.