When a car accident left Rachel with an L1 spinal cord injury just before the start of her senior year of high school, she almost immediately began to set goals while in recovery, but was told they were unrealistic. A golfer, basketball and volleyball player, she missed competing with her peers while rehabbing but knew her training could help her stand, then maybe even walk. Four months later she walked 10 steps out of the hospital and onto her next goal – walking across the graduation stage, which was accomplished that spring.

Rachel is now a junior at the University of Minnesota majoring in Supply Chain Operations and minoring in Business in Healthcare so she can eventually work in the administrative side of the medical field. She feels very fortunate to walk with the support of a loftstrand crutch and works out at a local adaptive CrossFit gym. She is also a member of an adaptive swim team that provides a strong community and stability. She’s interested in 3D rendering and is working in her own time, with the help of university resources, to create an adaptive cup holder for wheelchairs. She hopes to build it soon.

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