Rachel Record grew up in Lowell surrounded by people living through tough situations 鈥� situations that troubled her, and that she couldn鈥檛 do anything about.
罢丑别听String Project聽at UMass Lowell became her refuge, starting when she was 7 years old. As a UMass Lowell student herself, she played second principal violin in the university orchestra and taught other children in the String Project. It was a place of healing for them 鈥� and for her.
鈥淚 grew up on this campus. I love it here,鈥� says Record, an聽Honors College聽student. 鈥淚 continue to teach because I work with kids who are growing up around drugs and crime or in bad family situations, and the fact that they can do something, they can set their goals and achieve them, is so important. It helps them see that they can determine their own future.鈥�
That鈥檚 just what it taught Record, who majored in聽criminal justice聽and minored in聽legal studies聽and聽Spanish. Her choice of major also grew out of her childhood experiences and her desire to have an impact, especially on rehabilitation and services for people involved in the criminal justice system.
鈥淕rowing up, I remember seeing people I knew and cared about getting arrested, sometimes for things they didn鈥檛 do,鈥� she says. 鈥淢ost people who go into the prison system are coming back. We have a responsibility as a society to help them rehabilitate themselves.鈥�
Record says her studies have deepened her understanding of criminal justice policy and practice. She has high praise for the faculty, including full-time professors doing cutting-edge research and adjuncts who are working professionals, such as Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, who taught her Introduction to Corrections class.
鈥淭o study that with someone who works in it every day is amazing,鈥� she says.
Thanks to a $1,000聽Honors College Student Fellowship, Record did research with Asst. Prof.聽Jill Portnoy聽on the relationship between resting heart rate and different types of aggression that can lead to crime. The research became her honors capstone.
Meanwhile, she took her first legal studies class, Honors Introduction to Legal Concepts, with Assoc. Teaching Prof.聽Walter Toomey, director of the聽Legal Studies聽Program 鈥� and immediately set her sights on law school.聽
Record later completed a practicum with Toomey that gave her the kind of hands-on experience students don鈥檛 usually get until they get to law school. Toomey offered to represent a client for free, as long as Record could participate. Record read the laws applying to the client鈥檚 case and did extensive research on similar cases. They won.
鈥淚t was great to know we could have an impact,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he system misread her situation, and we were able to correct that.鈥�
With guidance and mentoring from Toomey, Record has accepted a full scholarship to attend Suffolk University School of Law in Boston, where she will study criminal law with a goal of becoming either a defense attorney or a prosecutor. She sees it as another way to help people and even influence policy by advocating for services and alternatives to incarceration.
Record was selected as the student Commencement speaker for 2020鈥檚 virtual ceremony, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She sought the podium so that she could honor the work ethic and resiliency of her classmates 鈥� and talk about what it means to be a River Hawk.
鈥淢y speech highlights some of the amazing work that鈥檚 been done by our students,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e setting an example through hard work and a passion for what we do, knowing that how we do something is just as important as what we do.鈥�