Name: Rachel Heacock
Hometown: Centreville, Virginia
Major/Minor: Economics/Statistics and English
Class: 2018
Campus Involvement: Her Campus, Culinary Club, CGIU
Off campus Involvement: Innovate LIVE, Staunton Babe Ruth
Five words that best describe you: Dedicated, time-efficient, intellectual, adventurous, and sarcastic
Her Campus(
HC): What brought you to Mary Baldwin?
Rachel Heacock (RH): I had first heard of Mary Baldwin when I was in middle school. I hadn’t really been considering it, but I visited the campus anyways. It wasn’t until then that I realized how many amazing opportunities Baldwin has to offer. Since we have such a small campus, it is so easy to be involved and take on a leadership position, which is really important. That was one of the main reasons I came, along with the specialized programs that Baldwin has.
HC: What activity on and off campus are you most involved with? I’m probably most involved with Her Campus for on campus activities. I’m a Campus Correspondent, along with Kalli-Anne, which can be a lot of work! I really like it though. Off campus, I wouldn’t say I’m really involved with a lot. For May Term, I’m working on an internship with some of my peers to hold the Innovate LIVE conference. Also, I’m supposed to be keeping the book for Staunton’s Babe Ruth baseball games, but it keeps raining!
HC: What made you want to become a Campus Correspondent for Mary Baldwin? I learned about Her Campus while I was doing some Pinterest research about how to prepare for freshman year of college. I thought the website was really cool. Once I was at Baldwin, I realized that we didn’t have a chapter, and I thought it would be a great online presence to have for a small women’s college like this one. Also, I’ve always enjoyed writing and taking pictures, so it was a good fit.
HC: How would you describe your first year at Mary Baldwin? (Laughs) Interesting, for sure. This first year was not at all what I expected, but I’m still very appreciative of it. I learned so much in the classroom, and outside of it. I’m thankful for all my professors and peers taught me. I had some fun moments, and frustrating moments, but all in all, I’m happy I was at Baldwin this year.
HC: What are your hopes for a career after you complete school? Personally, I want to be as educated as possible, aside from my professional goals. I would like to have my doctorate before I really get into my big career plans. After I do that, I want a career in professional baseball. That’s not one of my favorite things to tell people, though, because it seems silly. People just look at me, like, ‘Are you serious?’ But I don’t care. I love the game so much and I can’t wait to become a big executive in that organization.
HC: When did you first realize that you wanted your career to focus around baseball? I went to my first baseball game, at Camden Yards, when I was around four. I still remember it though, but that’s probably only because I was on the big screen during the national anthem and my entire family freaked out. After that, I was not into sports. Baseball, especially, I thought was boring. I was wrong, though! I went to another game when I was in middle school and was blown away by how much I got into it. After that, I started helping out with my high school teams and some other leagues over the summer. The more time I spent around the game, the more I knew that I wanted to be in it for real.
HC: What advice do you have for other girl’s that wish to work in fields run predominately by men? I would say try not to get too wrapped up in the fact that you’re any different from the other people working in the field. I’m not going after a career in baseball because I’m trying to make a statement as a woman, I’m going after one because I love it and that’s what I want to do. I know it’s going to be much harder than it already is because I’m a woman, but I’m not going to make it even harder for myself by thinking that I deserve to make it just because of that. I’m branching out and making connections to build on now, and I’m going to get there gender notwithstanding.