(From left) Susie Light, David Hoffert, Teresa Jordan and Leesburg Elementary Principal Randy Dahms have all worked to make Jordan’s dream of having Eva Kor, holocaust survivor, share her story with students in the community a reality.
(Photo by Alyssa Richardson)

Warsaw Community School Corporation is working to take it’s mission statement to all new levels.

Through the support of the Kosciusko County Community Foundation and the Bowen Center, the school will feature guest speaker and holocaust survivor Eva Kor of Terre Haute. Students from area schools, as well as members of the community, are invited to attend this special presentation.

The idea began to take root after Leesburg Elementary School sixth-grade teacher Teresa Jordan learned of Kor. Though Leesburg Elementary has been very involved with teaching students about the horrors of the holocaust and the strength of its survivors, Jordan dreamed of bringing Kor to Leesburg to share her story with students.

In the past, Leesburg students have been able to interact with survivor Simone Arnold Liebster, who resides in France. That “meeting” took place through Skype. However, students will now have the opportunity to hear the stories of two survivors through Jordan’s dream.

“We talk about our mission statement in WCS so much and it really talks about dreams and enriching the lives of others,” stated Warsaw Community School Assistant Superintendent David Hoffert. “To watch Teresa take this dream has been just phenomenal, it’s been a showpiece to our community. It is a dream of giving back to others. She wants to give back to the students, not just of Leesburg now or WCS, but of this entire community. I can’t say enough of her determination. We are lucky to be able to come alongside.”

Jordan’s plan to bring Kor to Leesburg Elementary began to blossom with the assistance of Hoffert and Kosciusko County Community Foundation’s Susie Light. Through the financial contributions of the foundation and the Bowen Center, as well as the vision of Light, plans began to formulate to take the event beyond just Leesburg Elementary. Light suggested that all area students in grades 6-8 have access to Kor’s story. The dream developed even farther when Light suggested the event be offered to adults in the community as well.

“The original plan was to bring Eva to Leesburg, but then we started saying well, maybe we will work with all the sixth graders here at WCS, which was 550 students and then some teachers,” explained Hoffert. “Susie then jumped on board saying wouldn’t be great to share with the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students. All of a sudden we’re up to about 1,600 to 1,700 students. And then Susie asked us what we thought about bringing in other schools as well.”

Light added, “If we have this space, why not fill it up? I thought, if Eva Kor is here, could we not invite adults to come in the evening and Grace College students? Her message is so universal we have people in South Bend and Fort Wayne interested in coming.”

The event will be held at Grace College’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. Hoffert noted that the center is expected to be at 100 percent capacity during the student event. The public event will offer seating for the first 2,400 people to arrive. Kor will speak to the public at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 25. Guests are encouraged to read Kor’s autobiography, Surviving the Angel of Death: The Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz, prior to the event, which is available for purchase here. The public event will offer a book signing as well as a question and answer time with Kor.

For more information about Kor and her story, visit her museum homepage at http://www.candlesholocaustmuseum.org/.