"Compassion is the greatest form of love humans have to offer." - Rachel Joy Scott
It was a regular day in Littleton, Colorado; Tuesday, April 20, 1999. An ordinary morning that would soon become anything but. At that moment in time, Adolf Hitler wa...
Rachel Joy Scott was born on August 5, 1981 in Denver, Colorado and was the third of five children. Her parents were Darrell and Beth Scott (later Beth Nimmo). Rachel's entire family was Christian, and her father was the pastor at the church in Lakewood, Colorado. Her mother was a homemaker.
In 1988, Darrell and Beth divorced, yet they still remained friendly wih one another and shared custody of the five children. Beth remarried in 1995 after moving to Littleton, Colorado with her children in 1989.
Rachel was very energetic as a young girl who was very friendly and often showed compassion for people who looked upset or moody. She was a very good poet and found an interest in art. Rachel attended Dutch Creek Elementary and then Ken Caryl Middle School, before becoming a student at Columbine in her ninth-grade year. In all of her classes at Columbine, she was an excellent student, receiving above average grades. She also developed a flair for drama, music, acting, and debate. She joined the school's forensic and drama clubs. Acting didn't come naturally to her, so she had to devote extra time to this.
Because of her involvement with the school theater production club, she met Dylan Klebold there, who was one of the gunmen on April 20, 1999. Rachel offered her friendship to him, and he apparently became privately infatuated with her.
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At the age of 11---in March 1993---Rachel attended church with her aunt and uncle and chose to commit herself to a life of Christianity. When she was 13, she traced her hands on the back of her dresser and wrote:
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"These hands belong to Rachel Joy Scott and will someday touch millions of people's hearts."---Rachel, age 13
Little did she know just how much she would change people's lives and the world.
