My mission is to pursue community transformation by uniting diverse individuals through meaningful storytelling that restores, develops, and empowers the voice of those in my community, in my church, in my cities, and in corners around the world.

Now, I’m working with the youth in an education-focused nonprofit organization and I’m loving it.

When I look back at these hopes and look forward to this interest in youth development, I see a common thread as “story.” My passion is storytelling and I believe that God can use and will use a variety of avenues for storytelling in my life.

In this next season, I hope God continues to open doors for me to work in education initiatives and youth outreach programs. And if He opens doors one day to hop on a plane to do international journalism or missionary work, then catch me at the airport.

Now that you know a little more about me, I will simply end by saying that I have always loved writing, telling stories, and working with kids/teens and will love any job that allows me to do any or all. Interested? Let's grab coffee—or Thai food!

Oh also! I got married in August so you may see my name come up as ‘Rachel Saavedra’!

Hi! I’m Rachel. I grew up in New York City and continue to call Queens one of my homes. I came to Southern California to study journalism at Biola University in 2018 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations and Journalism in May 2022.

One of my passions is working with kids and I enjoy being a kids ministry teacher at my church. I also currently serve in youth ministry where I have the chance to hang out with some teenagers and play dodgeball all the time. A few more quick facts: I love Thai food, my favorite vacation was Peru, I’m half-Filipino, I love to play volleyball (especially at the beach), and I am 100% down to go skydiving again.

Even as I graduated a year ago, the question remains: what am I going to do now? The answer has changed several times since the moment I stepped foot onto campus — write for a magazine in NY, enter the mission field in South Africa or Latin America, plan weddings.