Santa Cruz, California · Class of 2027

Rachel McGowan

I’m a senior at Kirby School with a love for student leadership, STEM, and competitive tennis. As Student Body President, founder of our Middle School Leadership Council, and captain/coach of our varsity tennis team, I thrive on bringing people together. My Girl Scout Gold Award project (Her Health, Her Voice) focuses on medical self-advocacy for teen girls. Whether tutoring math or studying civic policy, my goal is always to lead with empathy, build practical resources and solve real problems.

Rachel McGowan, smiling, standing in front of yellow autumn leaves

What I do

A few things I do

Leading

Student body president last year, student representative and vice president before that. The last two summers I was selected for leadership programs at the University of Chicago, Rice and Stanford, and I represented Kirby at Rotary’s leadership camp. Now I advise the middle-school leadership council I helped start.

Her Health, Her Voice

A free self-advocacy toolkit for teenage girls navigating chronic and unexplained illness. I built it because I needed it. herhealthhervoice.com

Tennis

I started the girls’ varsity team at Kirby as a freshman and still captain and coach it. I train year-round.

Writing

I created the Kirby Chronicle, our quarterly magazine, and I edit and write for Acorn, our nonfiction literary magazine.

Say hello

Whether it’s about Her Health, Her Voice, leadership, writing, or something you think I should know about.

Get in touch