October 12, 2021
Congratulations to Rachel Schroder, our October Activist of the Month! Rachel has been a volunteer with Texas Alliance for Life since she was 13 and she’s always been passionate about saving lives from abortion.
Last year, she decided to start a Students for Life group, and she quickly built one of the most active groups in Texas: Austin Students for Life. This Spring, we were honored to have her join our Students for Life Action Captain Program. As part of this program, she was trained, mentored, and mobilized to help pass pro-life laws in Texas. The result has been astonishing!
Rachel pursued her love for public speaking by testifying before the House and Senate on multiple bills, organizing lobby days, speaking at a rally, and vlogging updates during a long day at the Capitol. She was one of multiple students who helped us put pressure on Republican lawmakers to pass a Heartbeat Bill, one of the most substantial pro-life bills passed nationwide.
Rachel is now heading over to Hillsdale College in Michigan, but the leaders at the Austin Students for Life group will be vital to abolishing abortion in Texas.
Read more about Rachel’s personal story below…
“When I was a preteen, I desperately wanted to become active in the pro-life movement. I would attend events with my parents and think to myself “What can a kid do to save babies?” I began volunteering when I was 13, mostly in administration, and interning when I was 15 at a pro-life lobbying organization in Texas, Texas Alliance for Life.
When I joined Students for Life in Fall of 2020, I became a front line activist. I co-founded Austin Students for Life, a Christian high school club for Austin, TX-area students, which grew to 15-20 regularly-attending members within the first several weeks.
In Winter of 2021, I went on a door knocking deployment in Georgia with Students for Life Action for the US Senate runoff election there. Because of my expressed interest in politics, I was recommended by my Regional Manager, Sarah Zarr, as a Texas State Captain with SFLAction. In this role, I have pursued my love for public speaking by testifying before the House and Senate on multiple life-saving bills, organizing lobby days, speaking at a rally, and even simply vlogging updates during a long day at the Capitol.
Students for Life has taught me to take initiative, ignore my comfort zone, and lead my peers toward a future where being pro-life is the norm. My fondest memory was the Heartbeat Rally celebrating our legislative successes in Texas this year, where I had the opportunity to speak alongside Abby Johnson, pro-life filmmaker Jason Jones, and our heartbeat bill author, Senator Bryan Hughes. What made it memorable was, ironically, the angry backlash we received. Although expletive-filled and sexually explicit, it made night and day the contrast between the evils of the pro-abortion movement and the peacefulness of the pro-life movement. We must be making a huge difference if they were so outraged at us.
Being a Texas State Captain with SFLAction has reinforced my passion for politics, which combines my love for justice for the preborn with my intense competitiveness. In light of this, I have recently adapted my college degree plans to study American Politics and Marketing. I will begin my studies this Fall as a freshman at Hillsdale College, where I will be the Michigan State Captain for SFLAction and be involved in the Hillsdale College for Life pro-life club on campus.
Students for Life Action has been a mentor like no other. While most organizations require their members to “work up a ladder” to eventually make a big impact, Students for Life has welcomed me from the get-go to take on as much leadership, even in my first year, as I was willing to accept. This has empowered me to put in long hours during my free time and to go “all in” on pursuing my pro-life mission. After college, I plan to continue on this pro-life trajectory by working in the Pro-Life Movement through political and social institutions to ensure that babies cradled in their mother’s womb receive the same protection as babies cradled in their mother’s arms.”
Check out the Students for Life Action Captain program for yourself HERE.