By: Staff Writer, Emma Goad
As the new school year starts, Spotlight is getting fresh new faces and minds ready to report. Among these new staffers are talented seniors like Rachel Haynes, who is bringing a new perspective and energy to the staff. With a passion for women’s rights and dedication to her school community, Rachel brings an unwavering enthusiasm to everything she does and cannot wait to bring that same energy to Spotlight.
At school, Rachel gives a lot of her time to her extracurricular activities. These being, PCL, Lacrosse, and even starting her own club. This year, Rachel has started a club named “The Women’s Equity Club” which focuses on women’s rights and the disconnect between treatment of men and women. This ties in perfectly with Rachel’s plans after high school; Rachel has plans to attend USD to become a Physicians Assistant specializing in endocrinology (the study of hormones and how they affect people). Rachel found this passion when she realized how “we’ve barely scratched the surface on women’s research.” Rachel has noticed that so much research has been done on men, but very little on women. She believes that “something needs to be done about this” and is committed to helping solve this problem.
This desire to be a problem solver is not an uncommon theme when it comes to Rachel. This year, PCL has become a club rather than previous years when it was a class one could take. Rachel has emphasized how she wants to help revive PCL back to where it was previously, despite the fact that she will be graduating this school year. Rachel iterates “even though next year I won’t be here, it’s good to set that up for the future.”
What brings Rachel the most joy, however, is sports. Rachel has always been a very active person, she loves to get moving and push herself to her physical limits. Her favorite sport is Lacrosse, she is a member of Poly’s team. Rachel’s eyes seemed to light up at the mention of Lacrosse, as she went on to explain how she finds “everything about it to be so fascinating.” Rachel also believes that part of this unwavering love for the sport stems from her teammates. “That team brought so much energy,” Rachel emphasized when asked what made her so passionate about the sport. However, last season Rachel suffered an injury and was unable to finish off the season This was a very hard adjustment for Rachel as she would not consider herself a stationary person. The way she had to go from being constantly active to being someone who was forced to “just sit around” was very difficult for her and her mental health. But, Rachel has been going to physical therapy and is on track to be back on the field this season!
Stay tuned to hear from Rachel this year in Spotlight. You will not be disappointed.