Rachel Scott

Rachel Joy Scott (August 5, 1981 – April 20, 1999) was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, in which 11 other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then died by suicide. Scott's belief in Christianity and the circumstances of her death have led to her being remembered by groups of evangelical Christians as a Christian martyr. She was posthumously the subject and co-writer of several books and the inspiration for Rachel's Challenge, an international school outreach program and the most popular school assembly program in the U.S. The aim of Rachel's Challenge is to advocate Scott's values, based on her life, her journals, and the contents of a two-page essay, penned a month before her murder, entitled My Ethics; My Codes of Life. This essay advocates her belief in compassion being "the greatest form of love humans have to offer". Rachel Joy Scott was born on August 5, 1981, in Denver, Colorado. She was the third of five children born to Darrell Scott and Beth (née Nimmo) Scott. The entire family are devout Christians. Her father was a pastor at a church in Lakewood, Colorado, and worked as a sales manager for a Denver-based food company; her mother was a homemaker. Rachel's parents divorced in 1988; they maintained a cordial relationship and held joint custody of the children. The following year, Beth and her children relocated to Littleton, Colorado, where she remarried in 1995. As a child, Scott was an energetic, sociable girl, who displayed concern for the well-being of others, particularly if they were downcast or otherwise in need. She developed a passion for photography and poetry at an early age. Rachel attended Dutch Creek Elementary School and Ken Caryl Middle School before she enrolled in Columbine High School in the ninth grade. At Columbine, she was an attentive, above-average student who displayed a flair for music, acting, drama, and debate. She was a member of the school's forensics and drama clubs.