Not one empty space was available on the bleachers in the Olympian High gymnasium as hundreds of students listened to a talk about bullying, student isolation, teen suicide, discrimination, and overall school violence.

The Rachel’s Challenge assembly travels across the U.S. to schools to equip and inspire individuals to replace acts of violence, bullying, and negativity with acts of respect, kindness, and compassion. Rachel’s Challenge is based on the life and writings of Rachel Joy Scott who was the first victim of the Columbine school shootings in 1999.

A few weeks after the tragedy at Columbine, Darrell Scott, Rachel’s father, spoke to a Congressional House Judiciary Committee regarding issues of school violence. Since then, his speech has become one of the most widely read documents on the internet.

Shortly afterwards, he founded “Rachel’s Challenge”, a bullying and violence prevention program. Rachel’s Challenge has reached more than two million students annually and many have accepted the challenges, modeled after Rachel’s life and writings. Students in the United States and several other countries have heard the universal message of kindness and compassion through Rachel’s story.

In her diary Rachel challenges herself to:

To take away all prejudges against those that are different

Start a chain reaction of kindness

Dream big, choose positive influences

Speak with kindness

“The purpose of today’s assembly is to promote a safer school environment by building a connected student culture,” said Soo Yeohn De, ASB Dean. “We are honored to learn more about Rachel’s legacy.”