An Enthusiastic German Speaker, Nick Haeg is an All-Star Student [VIDEO]

COLLEGEVILLE  - Ask St. John’s Prep senior Nick Haeg for some of his favorite German words and he’ll be more than happy to give you a sample.

"One of my favorite words is a 'Verdauungsspaziergang' - which is literally a walk after a meal to aid in digestion. [There's] these complex German words that you can only describe in a full sentence of English."

Haeg recently scored in the 99^th percentile on the level IV 2016 National German Exam for high school students. He had the highest score In Minnesota, with over 21,000 students participating in the program. As a result, he’s been awarded an all-expense paid summer trip to Germany.  He says he picked the language up quickly after coming to Saint John's Prep.

"It was such a fun language to learn and I caught on fast. The rules made sense to me, so in 8th grade I started learning it full-time and I guess the rest is history. So, five years of German now."

Haeg is one of 44 German students from across the U.S. to receive the award. The study trip will include round-trip transportation, a stay with a host family, and excursions to places of cultural and historical significance.

On top of this, Haeg also played a large role in the Saint John’s Knowledge Bowl team that won state in Brainerd recently. Haeg says he’s been able to use his German language skills for the team.

"There have been times where something like this come up: 'the name of this opera by Wagner, translates into what?' I would know what that means not because I know the opera, but because I can translate. That's just an amazing experience."

Haeg also runs track and is a member of the school cross country team.