Millerton youth settles in Austria

MILLERTON — Chloe Panzer, 16, is currently in the small town of Wilhering, Austria, for a year of living and learning abroad.

She left Millerton on Aug. 13.

Chloe, a resident since age 5, has a background of mobility and travel.

Born in Boston, she moved with her family to Mexico while still an infant. Months later, they returned to the States and lived in Wassaic for several years before making the move to Millerton.

Chloe’s father, John Panzer, is from Pawling originally. Her mother, Kristen Panzer, is president of the North East (Webutuck) Central School District’s Board of Education. Her siblings are Maddie, 20, Taigh, 21, and Kara, 23.

Chloe has attended Webutuck since kindergarten. She just finished sophomore year and played for the varsity soccer team.

Twice through Webutuck’s French program she’s traveled to Europe — once to England and once, of course, to France. 

The travel bug is shared among the family. Both Taigh and Kara have completed study-abroad programs in China, and a family trip took all the Panzers to Iceland.

So, why Austria?

“Part of the program is you don’t really choose where you go,” Chloe said in an interview with The Millerton News before her departure. The program is through Rotary International.

“They gave me a choice of Thailand or Austria, and I like to ski and snowboard so I chose Austria,” she said.

Chloe’s main criteria was to go somewhere for an entire year. Kristen researched and learned that The Pawling Rotary Club — a division of Rotary International’s Hudson Valley district — sponsors year-long student travel.

After an interview with the Pawling club, a conference in Connecticut and, lastly, “boot camp” in Utica, Chloe was ready to go.

In Austria, she’s staying with three different host families through the course of her trip. Before departing, Chloe met the first family — coincidentally a couple with four kids — through email. Also coincidentally, one of their daughters is in America while Chloe is in Austria — though in California, not New York.

Chloe is attending Aloisanium, a private high school, in the city of Linz. She doesn’t know much German, but hopes to return with much more.

“I hope to understand what it’s like to live in another country and that I’ll be able to somewhat speak German,” she said.

Now a few weeks into her program, Chloe is completing a language camp. 

“We’ve been swimming, hiking and then taking German classes,” she said in an email, Aug. 28. “There’s 67 exchange students here, including me, from all over the world.”

They’re from 16 different countries, to be exact.

“It’s really cool getting to know them,” Chloe added. “As much as I like it here, I do miss Millerton, but I can’t wait for all the exciting adventures to come.”

She also hopes to join a local soccer team and travel around Europe.

Through the Rotary International host district there, Chloe will travel to Schladming Dachstein, a region in Austria with four different mountains to ski. There’s also a trip planned to Berlin and Prague for a week and another to various countries in Europe for two weeks.

The Panzers plan to visit Chloe sometime after the halfway mark of her stay. Chloe does not plan to come home until her return flight next June.

Look for an update then in The Millerton News.