Irene Miller, who fled Poland during World War II, and spent time in a Siberian labor camp and years in orphanages, shared her story of survival and overcoming obstacles to achieve success with on Friday, Jan. 20, with students at Howell High School and Innovation Academy. Miller went on to become a teacher, health care executive, and author.
You can learn more about Miller by clicking here.
“Having Mrs. Miller visit our school provided our students with an incredible learning experience. It is one thing to read about the Holocaust and its impact in a textbook. It is a completely different experience and much more powerful one, to hear about the Holocaust from someone who survived that time in history,” said Jason Schrock, Howell High School principal. “Mrs. Miller not only shared her story of survival, but she also shared lessons on overcoming adversity and promoting tolerance and understanding of others.”
When asked by a student if she could give everybody one piece of advice, what would it be, Miller said: “Don’t be bystanders, be a part of your community. And what I say is Tikkun Olam, it means improving the world. You each have the responsibility to be part of the world that you try to make better in whatever small way you can, starting with your school, your community, your city. Don’t be bystanders. Take part in positive actions.”
Miller is a retired healthcare executive who has held positions as a hospital administrator, developer, and administrator of the first federally qualified HMO in Michigan and director of mental health for Livingston County. She was director of the psychiatric division at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital and director of treatment centers for drug-addicted and dual-diagnosed women and their children at the Detroit Medical Center.
For a year, Miller served in Washington, D.C., on an advisory committee for issues related to drug addiction in women and children. For two years, she was a public school teacher in Israel.
In retirement, Irene is a docent and speaker for the Detroit Institute of Arts, a courts mediator, and serves on the Board of Directors of the American Jewish Committee, the oldest civil rights organization in the U.S. Since the University of Michigan-Dearborn published her book, “Into No Man’s Land: A Historical Memoir,” in November 2012, Miller has been in demand as a speaker at many large events in the United States and Canada.
