EUSTIS, Fla. – A Lake County teacher knows how to builds strong bridges to the past.

​Karen Flores wants her students to be able to see beyond the pages of their history books. 

Flores teaches at Eustis Middle School. She's been a teacher of American history for two decades.

"History is alive and well,” Flores said. “It's something that is out there. It's not just in the classroom. History is something that can be connected to every single day."

​Learning about subjects is easier when students are able to make a connection to history like when Flores and her students met with a Holocaust survivor in Miami who has since passed away.

"They were in awe of her and she was just in awe of them and she was so grateful to be interviewed by them,” Flores said. “She told personal stories to the students of a time when she was not much older than they were so there was a real personal connection between the survivor and the students which it was amazing to watch."

Flores wasn't always convinced that teaching was for her. 

When she was in college she considered working for the FBI but her love of teaching prevailed

"I've been to about 15 battlefields,” she said. “It's something that if I pick up a book it's usually a history book. If it's a movie I'm usually watching a history movie."

It's that passion and dedication that helped her coach students in national history competitions too. "I couldn't be happier,” she said. “The students every year they amaze me. I learn as much from them as I think they learn from me and I'm happy to get up every morning and see them and I can't wait to get back in August."