Features Editor

When Rachel Rascoe was about six years old, her grandmother was very ill, but the impression she made on Rachel set the course of her life.

"My grandmother was a nurse and I was very impressed by that," Rachel said. "When she developed lung cancer and was sick in bed, I would take her medicine to her. She called me her little nurse and I think that’s when I decided I wanted to be a nurse like her and that I wanted to spend my life helping other people."

Rachel is a 2002 graduate of Charles Henderson High School and she has a string of honors to show for her hard work and dedication.

She was recognized by two civic organizations as one of the community’s most outstanding high school seniors. The Troy Exchange Club selected her as youth of the month and the Troy Rotary Club chose her as the outstanding vocational student for 2002.

She was named the outstanding vocational student at the Troy/Pike Center for Technology and the outstanding healthcare student in her class at the vocational school.

Rachel also received the Lunsford-Ferguson undergraduate healthcare scholarship which was awarded through an application process in the healthcare program at Troy State University.

The awards Rachel received in the area of healthcare nudged her more toward a career as a medical facilitator.

"When I was growing up, one day I wanted to be a nurse; the next day I wanted to be a doctor, but whatever I wanted to be was always within the healthcare program," Rachel said. "My grandmother was my inspiration."

Rachel will enter the nursing program at Troy State University in the fall with the help of the scholarships she received. The motivating factor that will propel her toward a career in the healthcare field is the need people have for quality, caring healthcare.

"Right now, I want to be a nurse," she said. "Some day I might decide I want to be a doctor, but I like the personal contact nurses have with patients. Doctors come in and make diagnosis and then they might not

have any other contact with the patient. A nurse has patients to care for and that’s what I will enjoy the most – the close, personal contact with those who need care."

Combining her desire to care for the sick with her love of traveling is an option that Rachel will pursue.

"I would like to be a traveling nurse," she said. "That way I could live in different parts of the country and have a career at the same time. If I have a choice in where I go as a traveling nurse, I think I would like to go, first, to the West. I’ve never been there and I’ve heard it’s really beautiful."

Pediatric nursing will probably be Rachel’s choice of specialities because she loves working with children of any age, but she’s keeping an open mind to any opportunities that come her way.

Until she starts college in the fall, Rachel plans to keep busy with endeavors that will prepare her for the future.

On June 25, she will leave for Anaheim, Calif,. where she will compete in the National HOSA Convention and Competition. She earned the opportunity to participate by placing third in the state HOSA competition.

"The competition is a knowledge test – medical math," Rachel said. "There will be competitors from every state, so it should be a of of fun. Laura Belcher is going as an alternate and we are looking forward to the convention – and the competition."

The convention will be June 26-30 and the students will have opportunities to visit Disneyland and other area attractions and participate in activities and events at the convention site.

As for long range plans, Rachel said the real rewards of dedication and hard work will come when she receives her RN pin and begins to use her skills to help those who need her.