Katie Meredith
As an 8th grader at BCS, alumna Lucy Rash (‘19) never saw herself as a “science student”. When a special teacher encouraged her to challenge herself in STEM, she began to see herself in a new light.
Rash’s family chose Bellevue Christian when her older brother Fredrick was ready for school. Three years later, along with her triplet siblings Maggie and Sean, Rash was enrolled in kindergarten and remained until graduation.
In her 8th grade general science course at BCS with Mrs. Clem, Rash was given the option to take a physical science course or a more challenging biology course. While she was planning to take physical science, Mrs. Clem encouraged her to stretch herself in biology.
Rash went on to take a wide variety of science courses at BCS, many which were taught by Ms. Cullen. Rash was deeply impacted by Ms. Cullen’s teaching style, as she shared scientific knowledge from a foundation of Christian truth. Looking back, Rash identifies her experiences with Ms. Cullen as a catalyst that truly sparked her passion for science.
“I remember thinking, ‘For someone to just be in awe, constantly, that’s an incredible feeling.’ Especially when you tie that to a Biblical worldview and God and His creation, that completely blew my mind and I think that’s where the passion started.”
Today, Rash is a sophomore at Washington State University, along with her sister Maggie, who lived in the dorms with her in freshman year. Rash’s love for animals initially led her to a pre-vet program, but experiences with friends and promptings from the Lord took her in a different direction.
Now, Rash is in a pre-nursing program and feels it is the perfect fit. Part of her peace in this decision can be traced back to BCS, specifically in how the science courses prepared her for undergrad work.
“I’m in Chemistry right now and I am crushing it. I took Chemistry with Ms. Cullen my sophomore year….I brought all my notes with me to college, but she prepared me so well that I haven’t needed to use them yet. My score on my AP Biology exam got me out of two intro courses I would have had to pay for and take here at WSU.”
Through experiences at BCS in science, which were grounded in faith, Rash feels prepared to engage with what God has for her in the future.
“I felt well-rounded and prepared for college. It’s really about getting the basic concepts down – one you have those you can just build on them when you get to college.”
