Rachel Manukas is a Freshman at the University of South Carolina as a Nursing major. 

 

During high school, she was a leader of five clubs, she volunteered at Wake Medical Center, took classes at Wake Technical Community College, babysat multiple times a week and danced competitively for 13 years. Through all of her experiences, she has been able to grow as both a student and a person. In addition, she has been able to benefit her community.  

 

As an officer in LEO Club, she has been able to help set up and attend events such as Dinner in the Dark and Bowling with the Blind, which helped to bring awareness to the blind community in Wake Forest. This allowed her to learn the importance of awareness. Similarly, being a leader of Optimist Club allowed her to spread positivity in her community and school.  

 

In Optimist Club, they complete a community service activity during every meeting. These activities have ranged from painting positivity rocks to volunteering at the Spooktacular to helping with events such as “Shop with A Cop.”  This allowed her “to learn the importance of spreading joy through the little things.”  In addition, she participated in Unified Track, which allowed her to assist a special needs student during track events. She said “I learned the importance of overcoming limitations.” She also volunteers at Wake Medical Center as a Guest Ambassador where she assisted visitors in finding the patient they are looking for and talk to patients who rarely receive visitors. This opportunity allowed her “to learn the importance of providing mindful words of comfort.”

 

 

Rachel said: “All of these experiences have allowed me to learn more about my community and participate in activities that will have a positive impact. In addition, these experiences have instilled in me a desire to always help and to persevere no matter what. This will help me in my future endeavors because I was able to learn that the little things matter, and hard work and dedication can go a long way.”

 

At the University of South Carolina, she participates in Chi Omega, and is a Capstone Scholar and a Galen Health Fellow.  She hopes to join numerous clubs around campus in order to continue to grow as a student and a person. 

 

When Rachel was asked what this scholarship meant to her, she says “receiving this scholarship through the Police Benevolent Association has allowed me to obtain a higher education and continue to explore new ways to benefit my community. Similarly, I have been able to not only become the best student that I can be but also the best person.”