My name is Rachel and I grew up in Sacramento, California with my mom, dad, and little brother who is now a freshman in high school. Growing up, I was a total tomboy and was really into sports. I earned a black belt in Bushido, played softball, golf, and eventually dedicated my time to soccer, playing competitively until finishing high school. I have a big Italian family in Sacramento and while growing up we always had huge family parties. In middle school and high school, I was very dedicated to school and spent a lot of my extra time participating in student leadership and community service. I am now at my dream school, UCLA. I am double majoring in Political Science and Communication and plan to attend law school after I graduate!
When I first got the call from Tempe12, I couldn’t have been more thrown off guard! I think they probably doubted my intelligence because I was so surprised that I could barely carry on a conversation.
I had originally been in email correspondence with David from Tempe12, but honestly thought it was a big joke! Luckily though, I didn’t throw my chances out the window and ended up getting a call asking me to do the calendar while I was at work. I was shaking for the entire morning, and was too scared to tell anybody about it because I still didn’t think it was for real, and didn’t want to jinx it. I remember thinking, “I need to get to the gym!” David and everyone from the Tempe12 were so encouraging, and continually made me more excited about being part of this year’s calendar (not to mention the fact that the photographer is David Rams!), and I can’t wait for the year ahead! | 
