Meet Rachel Drew, a Lynch student who cherishes her time spent volunteering with the PULSE program!
Name: Rachel Drew
Major: Elementary Education and Biology
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Andover, MA
Highlight Activity: PULSE
Who is Rachel?
Rachel Drew is a freshman in the Lynch School of Education Class of 2020. She is an elementary education and biology double major from Andover, Massachusetts. Rachel is involved in BC’s highly-regarded PULSE service program. This year, through the program, Rachel mentors and tutors an 8 year-old girl named Sarai. Rachel sees Sarai two to three times a week (spending six hours during the week and four hours every other weekend, resulting in eight hours of service per week). During this companionship time the two do fun activities. For example, Rachel once baked cookies with Sarai in the Shaw House on Upper campus and delivered them to grateful freshman throughout the dorms! Her experience with Sarai left such an impact on her that Rachel decided to apply for PULSE Council. This competitive position has only about 20 spots. Rachel was accepted to the Council this past week, meaning she will be dedicating roughly 12 hours per week to the program, through coordinating with supervisors and organizing service placements. In addition to this, she will host meetings with her group and hold office hours during the week. Amidst all of this involvement, Rachel also works in the MESA Department in the Lynch School throughout the week.
Another impactful experience for Rachel has been her involvement in the Appalachia Volunteers Program here at BC. This past spring break she went to Pitman, New Jersey for a week to help build houses in the community. She had such a great time she plans on continuing with the Appa program next year!
What does Rachel love about BC?
In addition to service and mentoring, Rachel also loves food, music, British literature, and writing. She also jokingly admits to loving school. Her favorite spot at BC is the ERC (Educational Resource Center), which she finds to be a nice, cheery place to study. Her road to BC was a bit of an unexpected one. Both of her parents attended Boston College, and Rachel never thought she would follow in their footsteps. However, she did end up at BC, and is incredibly happy with her choice. She says that the fact that almost all upperclassmen really love it here really says something about school: “People are able to admit there are rough patches, which shows the school’s not perfect, but overall everyone has a great experience.”
What is something near and dear to Rachel’s heart?
One of Rachel’s greatest family memories is her time on the Cape, where her family would vacation every summer to her grandparents house. Her entire extended family would go, and Rachel happily recounts memories of floating down the river, taking walks to the jetty, wiffle ball and bocce in the backyard, and trips to the local tea house with her grandma. Before moving from the house, her grandparents bought each grandkid a plank on the boardwalk with their name on it. Rachel smiles while saying this is where she plans to get married in the future!