Rachel Scott
Rachel Joy Scott was an American student who was the first fatality of the Columbine High School massacre, during which twelve other students and a teacher were also murdered by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who then committed suicide.
Scott has been revered by groups of evangelical Christians as a Christian martyr, although the circumstances surrounding her death and martyrdom have been disputed. She posthumously was the subject and co-writer of several books, and also was the inspiration for and namesake of 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".
Early life
Childhood
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 Nimmo. 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. Acting did not initially come easily to her, and she had to devote extra effort to succeed in this activity.
Adolescence and Christian beliefs
When Scott was 11 in March 1993, she visited the church that her aunt and uncle attended in Shreveport, Louisiana, and chose to commit herself to Christianity. By April 1998, when she was at Columbine High School, five of her closest friends had distanced themselves from her because of her increasing commitment to her faith. Furthermore, because of her faith, she was occasionally subjected to mockery by several of her peers. Rachel documented this in a letter to a relative a year to the day before her death. The letter included the words: "Now that I have begun to walk my talk, they make fun of me. I don't even know what I have done. I don't even have to say anything, and they turn me away. I have no more personal friends at school. But you know what, it's all worth it."On many occasions throughout Scott's adolescence, her family observed her in prayer both at home and at church. Her mother said that her daughter would regularly pray on her knees, with her head bowed, her hands upon her face, and that often, these particular prayer rituals brought tears to Scott's eyes.
On one occasion, this included writing a prayer for one of the future perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.
By the age of 17, Scott was an attendee of three churches: Celebration Christian Fellowship; Orchard Road Christian Center; and Trinity Christian Center, where she choreographed dances at Sunday service. She was also an active member of church youth groups; at the Orchard Road Christian Center, she attended a youth group named "Breakthrough", where she displayed a passionate interest in both evangelism and discipleship. Scott wrote in her journals that her spiritual awareness developed greatly through attending this youth group, and she became known as a leading advocate within it.
Personal life
Scott struggled with self-esteem issues as a teenager, and has been described by her family as being "blind to her own beauty". By the age of 17, Rachel, although popular among her peers, would occasionally resist efforts to attend certain social events with her friends out of fear she would succumb to the temptation of drinking alcohol. In her mid-teens, Scott had a serious relationship with a boy, but she chose to end it over concerns that it might develop into a physical encounter.According to friends, Scott often chose to wear clothes of a style reflecting her colorful personality, and occasionally wore eccentric hats, fedoras, or even pajamas to amuse her companions. In addition to her passion for fashion, music, and photography, she was an avid viewer of classic movies, and often spoke of her desire to become a renowned Hollywood actress. She is known to have conveyed these aspirations to her family and to have combined her sense of humor into everyday family life with lighthearted gestures such as leaving a message on her family's answering machine stating: "You have reached the residence of Queen Rachel and her servants, Larry, Beth, Dana, Craig, and Michael. If you have anything you'd like them to do for me, please leave a message."
Scott was an aspiring writer and actress. In 1998, she performed a mime act to the song "Watch the Lamb" at the school talent show. The tape jammed halfway through the song and Dylan Klebold, who ran audio for the school theater production club, came to her rescue and fixed the tape, leading her to thank him afterwards. Rachel's sister would later perform the same mime act at her funeral.
In order to repay her parents for the Acura Legend they had given her, Scott worked at a Subway sandwich shop on West Coal Mine Avenue in Littleton shortly before she died. In one instance while working there, she felt remorse for not assisting a homeless woman who had come into the store and vowed to be more helpful to such people in the future.
At the time of her death at age 17, Scott lived in the Columbine community and was debating as to whether she should become an actress or a Christian missionary. She also had plans to visit Botswana as a member of a Christian outreach program to build homes in the upcoming summer before moving into her own apartment in late 1999.
Murder
Scott was eating lunch with her friend Richard Castaldo on the lawn outside the west entrance of the school, when Eric Harris shot her four times with a Hi-Point 995. Initially shot in the chest, left arm, and left leg, from a distance of 10 to 15 feet, she sustained a fourth and fatal wound to her left temple. Castaldo was shot eight times and permanently paralyzed from his injuries. Scott's body was left outside where she died and was not retrieved by the coroner until the following morning.Shortly after killing Scott, Harris and Klebold went on a killing spree around the school, killing 12 more people and leaving 24 injured. The two perpetrators committed suicide in the school library, the place where they murdered the most victims. Scott did not personally know Harris or Klebold. After the killings, Scott's car was turned into an impromptu memorial in the adjacent Clement Park after being moved from the school's parking lot by grieving students. A chain-link fence was also installed around the vehicle for mourners to attach their tokens of grief such as flowers, crucifixes, teddy bears, and letters of condolence. The car was ultimately covered by the objects left upon it by mourners. Scott's 16-year-old brother, Craig, was also at the school on the day of the massacre; he was in the library where most of the killings occurred; he survived unharmed, although two of his close friends were also murdered.
Craig later expressed extreme regret for his last interaction with his sister: slamming a car door at her when being dropped off at school that morning.
Funeral
Scott was buried at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens in Centennial on April 24, 1999, following a two-hour funeral service held at the Trinity Christian Center. Her funeral was one of the first services following the massacre and was attended by more than 1,000 people that included friends and staff at Columbine High School. The Reverend Porter began the service by addressing the congregation with the question, "What has happened to us as a people that this should happen to us?" He then addressed the solemn crowd with a speech that included references to Scott's pious character, kind nature and love of her fellow human, before stating: "You have graduated early from this life to a far better one, where there is no sorrow, violence or death." Her friends from the Orchard Road Christian Church Youth Group also sang a song at the service, composed in her honor, entitled "Why Did You Have to Leave?" Attendees were invited to talk at the service, as "My Heart Will Go On" was played.Those conveying their eulogies included one youth who had been considered an outcast at Columbine High School, who stated: "All my life I prayed that someone would love me and make me feel wanted. God sent me an angel," before staring at Scott's casket and weeping. Nick Baumgart, who accompanied Rachel to the high school prom as her date three days before her murder, also spoke, saying: "A truer friend, you couldn't find. You could be having the worst day of your entire life; all she had to do was smile." Scott's parents chose not to speak at the service, but issued a statement in which they described their daughter as "a girl whose love of life was constantly reflected in her love and zeal for music, drama, photography, and for her friends".
Prior to her burial, mourners who had known Scott throughout her life were invited to write messages of condolence, grief and thankfulness on her ivory white casket. Her coffin was adorned with messages of love, gratitude, and grief. The funeral service was broadcast by CNN and MSNBC.