Meet Rachel Stinebaugh!
Year: Junior
House: Mather
Major: Economics
What are you involved in on campus?
I’m co-directing Mission Hill After School Program (MHASP), a PBHA program that serves 60 kids in Roxbury, and I’m co-captain of the club field hockey team! I’m also a member of Alpha Phi. I absolutely love all of the groups I’m involved in here at Harvard – each one is like a family to me!
What are you most looking forward to this year?
There are way too many things I’m looking forward to this year! I’m really excited for sorority recruitment at the beginning of next semester – it’s always a really crazy time of year, but it’s so much fun and such a great bonding experience. I’m also really excited to see how the club field hockey season pans out. We’ve really improved over my time here! I’m looking forward to seeing how the semester goes for MHASP, too, because we’ve made a bunch of huge and exciting changes. I’m a big fan of Harvard-Yale as well – some of my best memories from the last two years have involved The Game. So basically, I’m excited about everything.
What did you do this past summer? Any funny stories?
I studied Spanish in Buenos Aires, Argentina for two months this summer. It was an incredible experience – I really miss it there! And I’m so glad I can speak better Spanish now. There were a bunch of funny things that happened, but one moment that I recall distinctly was talking to an Argentinian about jazz music. It was my first week in Argentina, so I could not for the life of me figure out what this “yazz” that he spoke of was, and had no idea at the time that jazz clubs are actually really popular in Buenos Aires.
Tell us about one of your role models.
Someone who has truly inspired me is Malala Yousafzai, who survived a Taliban attack on her life as she boarded her school bus in Pakistan. At a young age, she fought for what she believed in – that girls should be able to attend school. Malala spoke out and publicly supported this belief, even though she knew that there would be consequences, as the Taliban disagreed with these ideas. Her strength, conviction, and continuing advocacy make me feel so proud and awe-inspired.
What is one thing on your bucket list?
I’m obsessed with traveling, so number one on the bucket list is to get myself to Southeast Asia – Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos. To me, traveling is the best way to learn about a place and the people that live in it. I’ve always been really interested in Asian cultures, so traveling there would be an amazing learning experience, not to mention a lot of fun!