This week’s Senior Spotlight features none other than the incredible Rachael Godwin! Rachael joined RMA in tenth grade when she won the Ann Weaver Scholarship, a scholarship she very much deserved and has lived up to. 

Rachael is one of the sweetest people anyone will ever have the pleasure of meeting, and she has really added to the class of 2023 with her bubbly personality. Rachael is one of those people who always has a smile on her face, and no matter how bad something is, she always finds the bright side. She will stick by you no matter what, and you can always trust her to make your day better. Her kind heart and friendly manner make her so easy to talk to and get to know. Rachael is always willing to lend a helping hand; whether it be advice on improving your soccer game or helping you solve a math problem, you can always count on her to get you through. I think her good friend Charlie Crumley summed it up best when she said, “Rachael is hardworking, driven and hilarious. She’s freakishly smart and always down for a challenge. She is da bomb.” 

Rachael is someone who is always up for a challenge, which is reflected by her impressive schedule consisting of AP Calculus, Honors English 12, AP Psychology, and AP Environmental Science. She is the type of student to always try her best and work at a subject until she understands it completely. On top of all her classes, Rachael is also an active member in a couple of Rocky Mount Academy’s clubs. She shares her love for her community with acts of service through Key Club, her faith through Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and her love for reading through Book Club. Rachael also participates in her community outside of school. She is a volunteer soccer coach and serves as president in her community’s 4-H Exchange Club, a club that exchanges with another state to learn about each other’s agriculture. In her free time, Rachael likes reading, exercising, hanging out with her friends, and going to the beach during the summer. 

On top of all her other commitments, Rachael still manages to be a very involved and talented athlete. She participates in Cross Country during the fall and is one of the star players on the RMA varsity girls soccer team. Rachael is a scoring machine, scoring hat-tricks almost every single game last year, and is one of the best offensive soccer players you will ever meet. Rachael’s dedication to soccer has not gone to waste, which can be seen with her many impressive athletic awards, including CIC Player of the Year 2020-2022, CIC All-Conference 2020-2022, RMA varsity girls soccer player of the year 2021-2022, RMA Offensive MVP 2020-2022, and All-State 2020-2022. Considering she has one more year of RMA soccer, we are extremely excited to see her continue her impressive soccer career. 

Rachael will be applying to NC State, UNCW, Appalachian State, UNC, and ECU this fall. Her top college chioce is NC State University, where she hopes to major in engineering. Considering one of favorite subjects is math, this will be an amazing career for her! She is definitely destined for great things. From everyone at Rocky Mount Academy, we wish Rachael all the best and are excited to see where life takes her! 

Get to know Rachael! 

• What is your favorite movie?

The Hunger Games

• Describe your dream vacation. 

I would love to go to Rome and see all the Renaissance art.

• Who is your role model?

My grandmother, who was always kind and hardworking in whatever she did.

• What is something nobody knows about you?

I love to crochet.

• If you were trapped on a deserted island, what three things would you bring?

a good book, a journal to write about my experience, and a friend to talk to

• What will you miss about RMA?

All of my friends and the teachers who have always been so helpful whenever I have needed them.

• What is one piece of advice you’d give to an incoming freshman?

Don’t wait until the last minute to do assignments and enjoy every moment of high school because it ends sooner than you think.

• What class would you take again, and why?

I would take world history again because I loved learning about ancient civilizations, or I would take pre-calculus again because I liked the concepts covered in the course.