By Chase Porter
Staff Writer
Video by Mattie Daily, KCBY

Prom season is such a frantic time for most American students – girls stressing over if they will get asked and if their dress is just right, guys fearing being shot down and figuring out the after-party plans. However one student, Laura Schramm, is wondering why these American kids are getting so freaked out about a dance?

Laura Schramm, a junior here at CHS, is part of a foreign exchange program that brought her here to the Lone Star State. Arriving here in August, she immediately noticed some significant differences from her home in Berlin to the suburbs of Coppell.

“There is a lot more school spirit here compared to my school in Germany, and also the way we get taught in Germany makes school much more difficult,” said Schramm.

In Germany, the majority of the sports and extracurricular activities are outside of and completely separate from the school. Teenagers there spend most of their time playing on club teams for sports and participating in clubs outside of school.

When it comes to school related activities, Schramm’s German school holds many more regularly scheduled dances and socials for students. These dances also include a prom, but according to Schramm, the German prom doesn’t compare to the American version.

“In Germany, prom just isn’t as big as it is here,” says Schramm. “We don’t ask people in elaborate ways either. We just ask people if they want to go.”

For most of us here at CHS, we have lived in Coppell our entire lives, and asking people to prom in elaborate ways is just part of the prom routine. Also, since CHS only holds homecoming and prom, it becomes a much larger event because dances are so rare.

“Prom was really exciting because everyone got asked in such unique ways, and it was nice to see all of my fellow seniors dressed up and out of our sweats that we wear everyday,” said senior Caitlin Koranda.

Schramm this year had the unique opportunity to go to the CHS prom on April 9 and was once again shocked by large scale of our prom. Schramm’s formals and dances in Germany were usually held either at the school or at a venue that is not as large as the World Trade Center, where the CHS prom was held this year.

“I’m surprised at how big of a deal everyone makes prom out to be,” said Schramm. “But I was really excited about dressing up and having a good time with my date and all the people that we went with in our group.”

Schramm will only be at Coppell High School for the remainder of this year, but she cant wait to share her new experience with the other people at her school in Berlin. She plans on sharing some of the things that she has seen here at our school with her school in Germany and hopefully merge the best of both her American experience with her native culture.