CWHS Junior Brings a Bit of Germany to Wisconsin
It’s not every day that students from Northwestern Wisconsin get to experience culture and life in another country. For the past several years, foreign exchange programs have essentially halted their exchanges due in large part to the COVID pandemic. As such, it is a real treat when the oceans open back up and students can experience new things from across the ponds. Chetek-Weyerhaeuser High School was able to do just that this school year with the addition of junior Laura von Tronchin.
Von Tronchin comes from Germany and has spent the 2023-2024 school year in Wisconsin—not through a formal exchange program, but rather connections. Laura actually holds a dual United States/German citizenship. Her parents, both German citizens, actually lived in the United States for more than five years; her father worked for Airbus and was sent to work all over the world. It just so happened that while her parents were living in Virginia near Washington D.C., both she and her sister were born in the United States. Eventually, the family relocated to France, and when she was around 12 years old, they moved back to Germany to be near their family.
After spending four years in a German public school, Laura says she started seeing and hearing about others who would travel overseas and experience the United States as a student. That was when the wheels started turning.
“I talked to my mom, and started saying, ‘Wouldn’t it be fun to do that?’” said von Tronchin. “So I personally started doing some research and looked at the difference between the school systems. I watched videos of other students’ experiences and I got to know a few who had completed exchange programs.”
It just so happened that Laura’s family had connections with a Chetek family; her grandmother taught at a German school in which Gesa Tschumperlin was also a staff member, so the two families knew each other. Tschumperlin, originally from Germany as well, is currently the director of the Link2Learn Virtual Charter School at CW. Gesa’s husband, Tim, is a CWHS Social Studies teacher. Von Tronchin’s mother asked Gesa if there was anyone she knew who might be willing to host a foreign student. It wasn’t long before Gesa and Laura started having conversations about her expectations and where she’d like to live. Gesa mentioned it to Kelly Esterby, who along with Kelly’s husband Mike Nelson and their children Noah and Zoe, live in the Sand Creek area. The Esterby-Nelsons agreed that it would be an invaluable experience. After Zoe, a CWHS senior, visited Germany this past summer, she returned with Laura as a new member of their family.
Laura acclimated to her new surroundings fairly quickly. There is a pretty significant difference, however, between the two education systems. With that in mind, she did have one major goal while in the United States: have the stereotypical, cliché American high school experience.
“That was important to me,” admits von Tronchin. “I wanted to go to prom. I wanted to have a locker. We don’t have those things in Germany. No football. No homecoming, electives or sports. We literally just have classes.”
So Laura dove right into that high school experience. She joined the cross country team with her host sister Zoe. She also joined the drama club, working backstage during their fall production of “Little Women.” This winter she performed with the CWHS Dance Team and is considering joining track in the spring. What is she most looking forward to, however?
“Obviously prom,” von Tronchin says with a smile. “I’ve been excited about that since December. I can’t wait to go prom dress shopping!”
Personally, Laura has even started the process of getting her driver’s license—a right of passage for every American teenager—but a process which she says is a bit more complicated in Germany. She hopes to have her formal license in April.
It’s not as if the Wisconsin Heritage and German Heritage aren’t linked. There are definitely historical and cultural connections between the two regions. However, when asked what surprised her the most about her time so far in the United States, Laura noted a couple of differences:
“When grocery shopping, the shelves are stacked super high,” she explains. “In Germany they are not. You can see people in the other aisles. And the flavor variety, especially Oreos, is shocking!”
Von Tronchin noted that she was also surprised by the displays of patriotism in the United States—things like saying the Pledge of Allegiance each day before school, Old Glory on regular display, the singing of the National Anthem before sporting events. This was something she hadn’t seen in other countries.
Although she misses her family in Germany, Laura has enjoyed having the Nelson-Esterby family by her side.
“They are super nice, open and very supportive,” said von Tronchin. “They’ve encouraged me to do a variety of things. We’ve even gone and watched some musicals together. I love that they include me in everything they do.”
Laura will spend the remainder of the school year in Wisconsin, returning home in July. She is looking forward to rounding out her time in the United States by experiencing the Fourth of July and Independence Day (and of course Liberty Fest), noting that Germany really doesn’t have an equivalent celebration. When she returns to Germany, Laura will have three more years of schooling. Her year abroad won’t technically count towards her graduation credits and Germany has 13 grade levels instead of 12. While she admits she is a little sad that, academically, the school year may be a wash, she relishes the time she has spent here and has no regrets about studying in the United States.
“I want to go home, but I don’t want to go home,” says Laura. “I want to see my family and I do miss a more familiar environment, but it’s very cool here. I’d love to graduate here, but I can’t. I’ve built more confidence, I guess. It’s not like I didn’t have help, but I’ve met new people, learned to navigate classes on my own. Now I have friends here, a second family and a second home.”
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