Rachel Evans: Value in Education

Rachel Evans '22 began her career as a hairdresser only to discover she had another calling, one where the counseling did not happen in a stylist's chair.

Her astounding work ethic and search for her 'calling' has taken her down a path full of successes and failures, all of which she said led her to St. Ambrose University – and she is grateful for that path she took as a non-traditional student.

"I began working at 15 as a receptionist at a hair salon and decided that I was going to be a hairstylist for the rest of my life," she said. With that determination, she enrolled in cosmetology school part-time during her senior of high school.

"As I traveled from Geneseo, Illinois, to Davenport throughout the week, going between Capri College and the high school, I thought it was the best thing in the world," she said. "It didn't take long before I began to realize it was not for me, but I felt I had to stick to it. I was a hairstylist for 5 years."

Now, with her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Women and Gender Studies, Evans is not ready to be done with school, noting enthusiastically that she "loves learning!" With that passion, she begins pursuit of a master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at University of Iowa this fall. She already has future plans for doctoral studies as well, followed by a career as a counselor, and then further career plans of becoming a professor. Yes. She has goals.

How did she get to this place of enthusiasm for her continued education? One could say it was a series of fortunate and some very unfortunate events.

"I was 18 when my brother passed away after battling addiction," Evans said. "He was 23 when he passed, and when I turned 23, things changed for me. I thought, 'This is not what I thought it was going to be.' I think it had been in my mind for a long time before finally accepting it, but counseling was calling me."

So with the same fortitude that she seems to display in all facets of her life, Evans enrolled at Scott Community College to complete an associate's degree, all while working full-time at The Abbey Center, Bettendorf, a treatment center her brother had attended.

Addiction counseling will always have a special role in her life, but she said St. Ambrose opened her eyes to so many opportunities in counseling that she didn't know existed.

"When I transferred to St. Ambrose, I learned so much more! My interests have broadened since being here," Evans said. "My Women and Gender Studies major has greatly influenced what calls me to underserviced communities that don't often have access to healthcare. And it pushed me in the direction of a non-profit goal with my counseling career.

"Jennifer Best was my advisor, and we were talking one day about what best to fit in along with my Psychology major. When she brought up the Women and Gender Studies major, she talked about it for maybe a minute, and I was like, 'That's it! Sign me up for that one!'"

Evans has accomplished many things during her short time at St. Ambrose. Entering as a junior, she quickly became secretary for the Triota Society, the academic honors society for Women and Gender Studies students. She also is a member of Psi Chi Honor Society.

"You really just never know what's ahead of you," she said. "I have learned to take every learning opportunity that is presented. I don't know if it's because I'm so far removed from my high school experience or I've had professional working experience, but the value I have in my education has shocked me over and over again. I know that I needed to go through those failures and successes to get to where I am."

Before entering graduate school, Evans plans to travel this summer to countless post-COVID-19 weddings and looks forward to visiting New York to watch Daniel Craig star in Macbeth on Broadway.

"My boyfriend and I are huge James Bond fans," she said.

Somehow this fits with Evans' "Never Say Never Again"-style philosophy.