From Germany to Roger Bacon

Roger Bacon High School welcomed Timo Drahman to school last week so he could experience what his father, Kyle Drahman '90, experienced over 30 years ago.

Kyle and his family live in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany and he currently teaches English at a couple German universities. His son, Timo, is entering the 12th grade and is on his six week summer break. In Germany, a majority of the students use this break to work and earn income. In this situation, Timo used a portion of his break to come experience Roger Bacon for a little over a week. Timo studies International Business back home in Germany and figured he would learn a lot from this unique opportunity.

Timo stayed with Mitch Elsass '24 and his family during his time in America. Mitch's father, Michael, has remained good friends with Kyle ever since their time together as Spartans.

"It has been pretty interesting to see how different school is here in the US because it is a lot different in Germany. The school day may seem pretty basic but it is really different than what I am used to in Germany. It's been cool coming back to the school that my dad attended. I'm very glad I was able to experience this," says Timo.

He was also able to experience American high school life by attending sporting events while on campus. His favorite experience was attending a couple American soccer games.

Timo jokingly states, "at first, I was worried about watching American soccer because I knew it wouldn't be as good as soccer in Germany but it turned out to be a really good game. I was pleasantly surprised with the soccer games I attended. They were really fun!"

Timo comes from a long line of Spartans as his uncles (Greg '81, Keith '82, Chris '84) and his grandfather (Harry '52) all attended Roger Bacon. His grandmother, Jane Boerger Drahman, graduated from Our Lady of the Angels in 1953.