When I asked Senior Rachel Burgett what her biggest goal here at Vanguard is she told me: “I wanted to grow as a person.” Rachel is such a vibrant and bubbly student here on campus. She greets everyone she passes by with a smile and goes above and beyond to make people feel welcomed. In her free time, she enjoys reading, drawing, photography, and making YouTube videos-which you should look up, they’re amazing! Her kindness is so obvious whenever she talks to somebody. To focus back on Rachel’s response, “I wanted to grow as a person,” was however, more than just a surface response.
In high school Rachel was a very shy person and not outgoing at all. She did not have many friends and became a very quiet student who never stepped out from her comfort zone. It was very hard for her, so when it came to choosing what college she wanted to attend and after visiting many of them, she said she, “felt an instant feeling of peace” when she stepped foot on Vanguard, for she knew it was the place to be. She believes that Vanguard is the big reason of who she is today. Coming to Vanguard allowed her to feel very accepted and valued. Especially when others want to get to know her and care about her being a little person.
Junior year she had a bad case of anxiety for the first part of the semester and she felt like it really deterred her academically wise and friend wise. She did not know who to reach out to until she finally got connected to the counseling center. She had a lot of help from the counseling center which allowed her to process what she was feeling. Being able to talk about it and for them to just listen and not ask questions was what helped her the most. She talked about what was going on and figured out the rationality behind it. Counseling was a huge helping stool, but what also helped was being around her friends who supported her throughout it. Rachel went on about that semester and continued to grow as a person.
She says that if she could give any piece of advice to herself then, she would go back to her sophomore year and let herself know that everything ends up being O.K. in the end and she should not worry about the small stuff that comes her way. Rachel has learned to embrace whatever is thrown her way.
She recommends, “to get out of your comfort zone and don’t be afraid to try new things, because there is so much to do while you’re in college and there are so many people to meet, so many things to do and see.” Rachel wants to make an impact in everybody’s life she comes across. In two weeks, she plans to graduate from Vanguard with a Bachelors in Liberal Studies with an emphasis in Psychology. Afterwards, she plans to pursue a career as a Kindergarten teacher. Her heart to teach is exemplified through her character both in the classroom and out. If Rachel isn’t one of the kindest people to know, she is also very inspirational. She did not want to not let anything scare her which comes to show that Rachel has a heart that is willing to fight for the best.
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