It is more than 20 years that Las Cruces and Nienburg/Germany ‎have maintained close ties as sister cities, establishing a most fruitful connection aimed at bringing together the best of two 'worlds'.

This bridge between the 'old world' of Germany and the 'New World' of the U.S. does, however, rest on a foundation built by a student exchange between a Las Cruces high school and Albert-Schweitzer-Schule/Germany started in 1987. It is safe to say that this decades-old tradition of connecting both worlds which both cities have cherished rests on the young shoulders of teenagers from New Mexico and Germany who are highly motivated to delve into new cultural waters.

From October 12 till October 30, this bridge saw a rejuvenation of its foundation when under the auspices of CHS principal Mr. Michael Montoya and within the framework of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP),  16 students aged 15 to 16 paid CHS a visit. Thanks to the meticulous planning and the well-orchestrated organization carried out by  Centennial High School's German program, the 11 female students and five male students from the Northern German city of Nienburg ‎stayed with Las Cruces host families while attending classes at CHS. 

The students, who were accompanied by their teachers Mr. Robert Kerlin and Mr. Thomas Volkhausen‎, were also offered the chance to visit some of New Mexico's landmarks and sights as they also attended Las Cruces' City Council meeting on Oct. 20 and convened with the Las Cruces-Nienburg Sister Cities Foundation. In so doing, the students along with their American counterparts were striving to maintain close ties between Nienburg and Las Cruces, learn from each other's culture and thus add to the foundation of the bridge between the U.S. and Germany well into the future.

For more information, please contact ‎ Mr. Thomas Volkhausen at Thomas.Volkhausen@gmx.de