The two students from Ohio’s Toledo Technology Academy of Engineering (TTA) admit they were nervous about what they would have in common with two German exchange students who would be with them for nearly three weeks.

After all, they are 17-year-old high school juniors, while the German visitors are 20 and are in what amounts to a post high school three-and-a-half-year internship where they spend all but one day a week at German manufacturers.

But then the Americans discovered the Germans have the same sense of humor.

“There’s a meme on TikTok about Chick-Fil-A and they knew about the joke,” explains Joey Kerper, a TTA junior. “They were very excited when we took them to a Chick-Fil-A here!”

A bigger similarity between the two groups of students is their desire to learn about the educational systems and the engineering and manufacturing capabilities in each country. Two students and two teachers from the State Vocational School Center in Coburg, Germany, were in Toledo from April 22 until May 10. Two TTA students and a teacher then headed to Coburg and will be there until May 31.

The Toledo school, an award-winning magnet school for students in grades seven through twelve that pairs traditional classes with hands-on learning on state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, was a natural place for the German students to learn about American culture and business. In addition to attending high school classes, the German contingent visited a number of Toledo-area businesses.

This partnership was initiated by the Toledo-German Sister City Committee. Toledo Sister Cities, the Toledo Rotary Foundation, and the German American Partnership Program have all donated funds to cover the cost of the TTA visit to Coburg.

Vandita Prasad, TTA’s assistant director, hopes the exchange program “will contribute to the students’ personal development by broadening their perspectives and enhancing their cultural competence — qualities essential for success in today's diverse and interconnected world.”

A similar trip happened in 2019, but this exchange is the first since Toledo and Coburg officially sealed a partnership between the two cities last year.

The four students had very different reasons for wanting to be part of the exchange program.

For TTA student Juan Rogers, an introduction in early grade school to Germany and its language, culture, and festivals was coupled with an epiphany in middle school that he really wants to travel and see the world. His goal after graduation, in fact, is to study and become a traveling engineer.

TTA student Kerper hopes to be a software engineer after college and says being Jewish is his “big motivation to want to go” because he wants to learn more about the land where his ancestors are buried, and he wants to visit Holocaust and World War II memorials.

For German student Jana Palus, the trip was her first time on an airplane and a chance to practice her English, which she has always feared is not that good.

In perfect English, she says the high point of her trip had been taking in a game of the world-famous Toledo Mud Hens Triple A baseball team. “That was my true American experience,” she says, smiling.

As for Tom Zenzinger, it was all about visiting a country that he fell in love with through movies.

“It’s cool! Everything here is bigger than in Germany – the cars, the buildings, the streets,” he says excitedly. He was most looking forward to visiting the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich., because of his love of cars.

TTA teacher Mark Zientek, who is accompanying the two Toledo students to Coburg, says he is most interested in observing how the German educational system incorporates technical training.

“I want to see how they train their workforce,” said Zientek. “German manufacturing is perceived as being superior so I want see what I can glean to bring back and teach our students here.”

Toledo Schools Superintendent Romules Durant is very supportive of the exchange because it was his first trip to Germany almost a decade ago – arranged by his old high school teacher and mentor, Tom Sorosiak - that set him on the path of opening magnet schools that partner with area businesses to provide students with hands on learning experiences.

In a special moment, Sorosiak, who has taken groups of educators to cities around the world, met with the TTA contingent to urge them to pay attention to everything while in Coburg.

“Take the time to [record] what you feel, not just what you see, and make sure it’s not just what you experience in the classroom,” Sorosiak said. “Write down about the daily life, go exploring in your leisure time, use the German language as much as you can. Have open eyes and look around you.”