Rachel’s Challenge presented to students

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Rachel Joy Scott was a normal teenager in 1999 when she became, tragically, the first victim of the Columbine High School shootings.

It wasn’t until later, when her father, Darren, was allowed to collect her belongings that he found her journal/diary, a collection of thoughts and statements that spoke, among other things, about the need to create “a chain reaction of compassion and kindness”.

Like Anne Frank five decades before her, Rachel’s writings have resonated with her peers around the world, as well as with adults and educators, leading to the creation of the non-profit Rachel’s Challenge organization to bring Rachel’s writings and thoughts to other students and parents.

Presenter Keyona Williams, who brought the Rachel’s Challenge program to several Van Wert County schools this week, was at Vantage on Thursday to talk students and staff members. An evening meeting was also held Thursday for parents and other adults. The program was sponsored by the city and county DARE programs, through donations from Eaton Corporation, The Van Wert County Foundation and Van Wert County Hospital.

While at Vantage, Williams challenged students to take up five challenges identified through Rachel’s writings and thoughts. They include the following:

• Eliminate prejudice in your life
• Dream big
• Choose positive influences
• Speak with kindness
• Commit random acts of kindness

Williams talked about those challenges and also spoke about what they meant to Rachel and to those whose lives she touched during her all-too-short life, including a new girl in school Rachel and a boy with disabilities she befriended.

The presentation used writings from Rachel’s journal and statements from her brother, Craig, who was a sophomore at Columbine on April 20, 1999, when 12 students, including his sister, and one teacher were killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then ended their own lives.

Craig Scott was actually in the library at Columbine, the center of the shootings, and watched two friends die at the hands of Harris and Klebold.

His sister, was outside on the lawn of the school and was first to die before Harris and Klebold entered the school and began shooting her schoolmates.

Williams noted that Rachel, while certainly not perfect, had a sense of destiny and a belief that she would impact the lives of millions – something the Rachel’s Challenge has done over the past 15 years, Williams said.

In addition to taking Rachel’s Challenge, Williams also challenged Vantage students and staff to become Friends of Rachel, and continue her positive legacy.