rachael’s heroes

Tim East

Mr. East, current Principal of Zionsville High School (ZCHS), is a very special person to the Fiege family. He, in fact, mirrored Rachael’s own progression through the Zionsville school system. Starting with becoming principal of Eagle Elementary when Rachael was in second grade. While Rachael was in middle school, he became the principal of Zionsville West Middle School (ZWMS), and then when Rachael moved onto high school, Mr. East was named the principal of ZCHS. Rachael was fortunate to grow up with Mr. East’s guidance and support through her school years. Mr. East was instrumental in helping Angi Fiege launch the RFW program at ZCHS to the class of 2014 for their Senior Day event. He has been a champion of the program from the beginning and recognizes how our message is reaching some of “his kids” positively equipping the students of ZCHS with the information they need to protect themselves and their peers as they are making the next step as independent young adults. Without his support and vision throughout the years the Fieges’ doubt if this program would have enjoyed its success. Mr. Eastencouraged Angi, her colleagues, and Rachael’s friends to come into to his high school ZCHS and speak freely and openly about tough issues our youth deal with on a daily basis. He gave the program credibility, which allowed RFW the Rachael’s First Week program to provide programing for other area High Schools and Universities. Mr. East is a true hero and advocate for the Rachael’s First Week program.

James M. Danko

James M. Danko became the 21st president of Butler University in 2011. For the past four years at Butler’s convocation, he has shared Rachael’s story with the incoming class—as both a cautionary tale and as a call to action. He recommends that students visit rachaelsfirstweek.com to learn about making smart choices, and he asks them to intervene when they see someone in trouble. “Help someone out who doesn’t realize the kind of trouble that they’re in,” he said at the 2018 convocation. “We depend on each of you to watch over each other.” He is honored to have been named a “Rachael’s Hero.”

Ryan Conrad

Ryan, a Purdue College student, while looking out for a friend and making good decisions, ended up saving a friend.

Shelby Border

Shelby is the daughter of Sharyl Border, who is a huge part of our program. Shelby is a Rachael’s Hero! She made the call for a friend after an accident and ultimately saved her life. We thank Shelby for her bravery and strength in moment when people were telling her not to make the call.

Shelby’s story: 

Leslie Merritt & Katey Brosche

Leslie Merritt (Left) is the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life here at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) and serves as the advisor to all the college Panhellenic Officers, including Katey Brosche (Right), who she has been helping with her Medical Amnesty Policy. Aside from that, Leslie volunteers much of her free time to make appearances at Greek events and working to keep everything running smoothly and safely. She also has several seminars throughout the school year that Greek organizations are required to attend, which teach about the importance of being aware of your surroundings, having fun responsibly, and the dangers of hazing (which MTSU has a zero-tolerance policy for and has not had any incidences within a very long time).

Katey Brosche (Right) is a senior at MTSU who is currently serving as the Panhellenic Vice President of Communications. This past January, she had the honor of attending AFLV in Indianapolis where she got to hear the parents of several Greek members speak out about how their child passed away due to friends being too scared to call for help. This prompted Katey to research Tennessee’s Medical Amnesty policy, which is lacking. However, other universities in Tennessee (besides MTSU) have a pretty air-tight Medical Amnesty policy.  As such, Katey has spent the past year typing up a proposal for MTSU Board of Trustees to revise the Medical Amnesty policy, which currently leaves it up the discretion of administration. Though MTSU has proved to be a very safe campus thus far, Katey is preemptively working to try and ensure this campus stays that way.

Alex Rhea

For vision, tenacity, and technical expertise that got Rachael’s First Week off the ground.