Columbine victim's project comes to CVUSD

This journal was with Rachel Scott at the time of the Columbine High School shootings, and a bullet actually punctured the book. Rachel Scott, a high school junior, told everyone she knew that one day she'd be famous and make a major impact on the world. But in the same breath, she told her friends and family that she knew she was going to die young.

One of Rachel's predictions came true in 1999, when, at 17, she was the first victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Colorado, which left 15 dead. But because of her kindness and compassion for others, Rachel's hope to impact the world has also become a reality.

Last week, students at Colina Middle School and all Conejo Valley Unified high schools heard Rachel's story as part of the biggest school assembly program in the country.

Rachel's Challenge, a program started by Rachel's father and stepmother, encourages kids to do five things: eliminate prejudice, dare to dream, choose their influences, offer kind words and start a chain reaction.

Brandie Orozco, a friend of the Scott family, led the presentations, which focused on an essay Rachel wrote weeks before her death. Rachel's father found it under her mattress while cleaning out her room.

"Rachel challenged her readers to start a chain reaction of kindness and compassion," Orozco said.

An excerpt from the essay reads:

"I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness will go."

The presentation juxtaposes video made by the two shooters before the massacre with video of Rachel's journals and other writings preaching kindness.

But in the weeks before her death, a teacher said, Rachel's usually optimistic poetry took a turn to dark.

"I'm dying," she wrote. "It isn't suicide. I consider it homicide. The world you have created has led to my death."

Family and friends, including youth group leaders, teachers and her sisters, all say that Rachel mentioned often that she would die young, and she seemed comfortable with that.

"The students were so inspired," said senior Katie Murphy, Newbury Park High's school board representative. "And in a special meeting, leadership students were personally challenged. They talked about how as leaders they influenced those around them."

The students were encouraged to start a Friends of Rachel club, in which members keep the spirit of the assembly alive throughout the year. Rachel was known for reaching out to the lonely and the picked on, new students and the handicapped. The club will focus on similar goals.

At NPHS, the Friends of Rachel club meets one Tuesday each month.

Orozco said Rachel would want the focus to be on making a change, not on her.

"She'd say, 'Don't put me on a pedestal,'" Orozco said. "She'd say she's had her ups and downs and made mistakes, that she hasn't done anything too special. She'd never traveled out of the country; she was never in the newspaper and never met anyone famous. For her, it was all about small acts of kindness."

Now, the Scotts have met numerous supporters of Rachel's Challenge, including Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Elton John, the Dave Matthews Band and Oprah Winfrey. More than 30 books have been written about Rachel, and a motion picture is currently in the works.

Rachel's televised funeral drew the largest viewership in CNN history.

Her father, Darrell Scott, carved a message on her memorial cross: "Your life was so full and meaningful, and your death will not be in vain."

He has kept that promise. Rachel's Challenge has spread to Bermuda, New Zealand, Ireland and Australia.

For more information, visit www.rachelschallenge.com.