“I do not approve of anything that tampers with natural ignorance.  It is like a delicate, exotic fruit.  Touch it, and the bloom is gone.”

“That is probably the best line I got to say,” commented senior Rachel Luckenbaugh,  who  created abuzz with her performance as Lady Bracknell in AFA’s production of  The Importance of Being Earnest. Many may ask, who is the young lady behind the haughty aristocratic mask?

The first thing one notices about Rachel is her passion for different culture, ideas, and perspectives.  “I enjoy things that are foreign to me, and I like the process of having to reorient my perspective.  I like being forced to ask questions. How can they add to my concept of truth?  Where do they go wrong?”   She mentions that one of her favorite period to study is the Enlightenment/French Revolution.  “I really believe that was a crucial turning point in the history of the West, and the ideas of the time had a clear and dramatic impact on people’s actions.”

Theater has also been a large part of Rachel’s life from the time she was seven and began participating in musicals.  “I discovered that I could sing and act, but not dance!” she comments.  “When I participated in a classical theater workshop when I was 15, I fell in love with Shakespeare.”   Getting in the shoes and skin of other characters, “has always come naturally to me,” she comments, “and perhaps acting is a natural extension of my inclination towards different kinds of cultures and ideas.”

Rachel came to AFA as a sophomore and summarizes the benefits of her AFA experience by saying that, “I would have to say that AFA has made me a stronger Christian through challenging academics.”  She elaborated, “The work is hard, but the teachers build relationships with the students, and make themselves available to us so we can improve our work; we benefit from spiritual and academic mentorship from our teachers.  Smaller class sizes really help too—with only eleven students in my class, we didn’t have the option of finding our own circle of friends like we might have at a larger school.  We had to figure out how to work together, even with all the different personalities, and now we are great friends; it’s like going to school with family.”

Rachel applied successfully for early decision at Christopher Newport University, where she will start college this Fall.  While not of one of Virginia’s major universities, the school attracted Rachel for its small size, as well as its unique culture.  “The school is ‘secular,’ but it has a strong Christian community.  The President of the school is a Christian.  But I also feel that a state school will help me grow and give me new challenges.”

As far as a major is concerned, she notes that “I am not as strong at math and science, so at least I know I won’t be an engineer!  But I am not sure which one of the humanities I’ll settle on,” and lists history, literature, communications, with a minor in theater as possibilities.   She hopes to spend at least a semester studying abroad. “The opportunity to be exposed directly to another culture would be fascinating!” she explains.

With the strong foundation she has both established and developed at AFA, Rachel is excited about the future.  “With my Latin foundation, I am prepared to study any of the Romance languages,” she declares “and my training in Christian worldview, I can be discerning when interacting with various cultures.”

A world of possibilities await Rachel, and she is ready for the challenge.