Rachel’s Challenge Visits North Students

Last Tuesday, April 16, J.O., a guest speaker from Rachel’s Challenge, an organization created to spread the word of the lifestyle and morals of a teenage girl killed in the Columbine shootings of 1999, spoke to the students at Parkway North.

“I’m not usually overly moved, but it was a good assembly with a good message,” said sophomore Milo Brucker.

Many students found this to be a very emotional assembly. One of these students was junior Lydia Nichols, who was very touched by Rachel’s story.

“[I was touched] when other people were talking about how [Rachel] affected their lives,” said Nichols.

In the assembly, students and staff were encouraged to accept Rachel’s Challenge to look for the best in others, dream big, choose positive influences, speak with kindness, and to start positive chain reactions.  Rachel was the first student shot and killed in the Columbine shooting.  Before she died, she wrote an English essay challenging the reader to start a chain reaction of kindness.

“[Because of this assembly], I’m not going to judge people at first glance and take time to get to know them before I jump to conclusions,” said freshman Leah Ryan, a member of the Social Justice Committee that was instrumental in planning this assembly.

While the assembly was intended for the students, many faculty members also learned a lot from it.

“I thought that it was a very emotional message that was intended to help students see the power of positives in our world,” said school principal Dr. Jenny Marquart. “What I take personally is that my words and actions can make a difference in people’s lives.”

Written by Molly Thal