Rachel has always been passionate to help people with disabilities. She found connection with them as a child and volunteered at church at a Sunday School Class for people with disabilities, helping lead the Bell Choir. She went on missions trips to El Salvador and Ukraine and worked with people with disabilities as well. This empathy formed at a young age. When she was 5, she was diagnosed with oculocutaneous albinism, a disorder that causes a lack of pigment and visual impairments. Throughout her childhood and highschool, she performed on the piano more Than 100 times and began teaching piano at the age of 16. She graduated from the University of Northwestern–St. Paul in 2017 with BAs in music, English literature, and Bible, with a psychology minor. During her time there she led a student organization called Club SODA, which stands for Students Of Disability Appreciation. Right after college, Rachel Began her master’s equivalency in Music Therapy at the University of MN, which she was unable to finish because of internship issues. During her time in higher Ed, Rachel received several mental health diagnoses and started blogging about what the world is like from the perspective of someone with disabilities. She has done public speaking about her disabilities at Northwestern, including in Eagle 7 News, the U of M with Rick Guidotti, a world renown photographer of people with disabilities, and on a podcast. She has written for the Northwestern Newspaper and Albinism Insight magazine, and has been written about in Access Press and the New Brighton newspaper. She had to stop working in 2022 when her physical health became unmanageable, and she was diagnosed throughout the next years with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Autism, Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder, Dysautonomia, and other disorders. She lives at an apartment with her lovely pets and hopes to keep inspiring people with her love of people, music, animals, and Disability issues.
