Speaker spreads message of making a difference

Have you ever heard of Rachel Scott? Well, Rachel Scott was a very kind person who passed away due to a school shooting. Scott had a very powerful message that she wanted everyone to hear: spread kindness and start a chain reaction. She believed that you never know what someone else is going through. Maple Lake school also wants to start a chain reaction, so that’s just what they’re doing. 

We have a group called FOR Club. Debbie Stang is one of the leaders of the club. “The bond of everyone in FOR Club is very strong and it’s so good to see everyone making such a difference,” said Stang. 

FOR Club actually stands for Friends of Rachel. People in the club want to help make a difference, like Rachel, would have had she lived. One of the clubs main focuses is to start a chain reaction. “One of the group members’ goal is to break the world record for the longest chain representing a chain reaction,” said Stang. In the past years they have been close to getting the record, so this year it’s a big goal to achieve. 

On Monday, September 14, 2021 a speaker came to Maple Lake High School to talk about Rachel’s story. Everyone in grades 7-12 attended and got to experience the powerful story that was told. “The speaker was very good. I felt very empowered to be more like how Rachel was,” said junior Mitchell Koss. Koss was very inspired by the story.

Rachel’s story is very powerful. The speaker is a big part of how everyone will react, so they have to be very good at explaining it. “I felt like she did an excellent job at explaining the situation to us. It was very important because most people didn’t know why we had ‘Rachel’s Challenge’ in elementary school,” said freshman Abby Torblaa. 

The goal for our school is going to work on being more kind. Everyone was challenged to go out of their way to make a difference. Just to try and do something nice for someone whenever they can. Being a part of FOR Club could help everyone be a little bit more like Rachel and how she wanted everyone to be. Even though Rachel sadly passed away, her message still keeps on spreading.