Tuesday, April 20, 1999 was a tragic day for the students at Columbine High School. In Columbine, Colorado, two young men, Eric Harrison and Dylan Klebold, killed 12 students and one teacher. Twenty-one people were injured. The majority of the people were killed in the library, however, Rachel Scott was shot outside the school. Later, after returning to the library, Harrison and Klebold committed suicide.

At Rachel’s funeral, all of her friends and loved ones were devastated. The funerals started three days after the shooting happened, and no less than 1,000 people attended each one. It was the most watched broadcast in CNN history.

Rachel’s Challenge was created after her death.

“I won’t be labeled as average”, she said. “I will have an impact on people’s lives.”

Immediately after her funeral, the world began to know her story.

A month after Rachel died her father got a phone call from a stranger who had a dream. Darrel Scott remembered the man saying he “dreamed about her eyes and a flow of tears that were watering something that he couldn’t quite see in the dream.”

Several days later Rachel’s father picked up her belongings at the police station, inside her backpack was a diary. The last entry in her diary was a picture of tear drops pouring onto a rose. The number of tears matched the number of victims killed.

From the time Rachel was 12 she had always wanted to be famous, change people’s lives and make an impact on the world. Little did she know, that’s exactly what she would do.

“These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people’s hearts.”

Rachel Joy Scott has made an impact on people all around the world. Not only with her words, but with her actions and how kind she was to everyone. She will always be remembered and loved for who she was and how kind her heart was.

Rachel’s Challenge was created to facilitate a chain reaction of kindness.  Ada High School has accepted the challenge.