From Loss to Purpose: Tohar Lugassi’s Path to Engineering and Renewal

Tohar Lugassi, 24, grew up in Netivot in a modest, close-knit family that has faced profound challenges since the outbreak of the war. Today, she is beginning a new chapter as an industrial engineering and management major at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, determined to rebuild her future through education and purpose.

Her father, 55, is a bus driver who has been on constant standby for emergency evacuations since October 7. Her mother, 54, works as a caregiver in a local daycare center.

Tohar is the youngest of three children. Her older brother is an electrical engineer at Elbit Systems and a former Intelligence Corps major, and her sister is an elementary school teacher.

Tohar attended high school in Netivot, where she took electives in biology and tourism management and was recognised for her outstanding community involvement. From a young age, she was active in a youth movement and in the city’s Volume Music Center, where she sang and performed at municipal events with her best friend,

Amit Man z”l, who was brutally murdered in the October 7 massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri. After high school, Tohar served as a wireless operator in the Air Force’s elite 8200 Intelligence Unit, where she used her English skills to support operational missions. Although she was offered a permanent position, she chose to complete her service and save money for her studies.

Following her army service, she worked at gig jobs. In 2023, she moved to Kibbutz Be’eri to live near Amit and began working at the Be’eri Printing Press. She lived there until the war broke out and was evacuated after the Kibbutz was destroyed. Amit’s murder and the trauma of that day deeply affected her. She returned to her parents’ home in Netivot and was later called up for six months of reserve duty at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv.

In the months following the attack, Tohar sought ways to cope with the loss and honor Amit’s memory. She completed a Magen David Adom first-aid course in her friend’s memory and briefly volunteered with the organization. She continues to sing at the Volume Center and performed at the city’s Memorial Day ceremony.

Tohar was accepted to Ben-Gurion University and chose her field of study after realizing that her strengths lie in analytical thinking, organisation, and problem-solving. She originally considered nursing but changed direction after volunteering with MDA and recognizing that her interests are more technical and process oriented.

Tohar is deeply grateful to be part of Atidim and a recipient of JNF Victoria’s Gold Patron Award. This will allow her to begin this new chapter with greater stability and peace of mind, freeing her to focus fully on her education and her dream of rebuilding her life and work toward a future defined by resilience, growth, and contribution.