Spring 2025 Winner of the Dream Chasers Scholarship

Rachel Anne Kennard

Despite facing various hardships, Rachel has remained resilient, giving her all in everything she does. Her passion for clean and accessible water resources has driven her to pursue a career in water law in California. Congratulations, Rachel, on your hard work and determination!

Read Rachel's Essay:

I am a mixed-race first-generation college graduate that grew up in poverty surrounded by addiction and abuse. My uncle drowned in my arms on my dad’s birthday when I was twelve, which eventually led to my family becoming homeless when I was sixteen. Depression and alcoholism consumed my father, he lost his job, and the bank took our home. My mother, two brothers, and I relied on community kindness to help feed, clothe, and provide us with temporary shelter. I became a lifeguard at thirteen years old to help pay for our household expenses and to process my uncle’s drowning because we couldn’t afford therapy. I witnessed the death of my uncle, watched my father deteriorate because of it, and had to keep my family clothed and fed all before I was eighteen.

After my uncle’s drowning, I became committed to living a purposeful life in his honor, which I continue through my connection with water. All my educational and professional endeavors to-date have centered on water resources, and I plan to practice water law in California after graduating from UC Davis School of Law. As a future attorney, my goal is to ensure that all California communities have access to safe and reliable drinking water. I want to address vital issues such as the valuation of water rights, the inequitable distribution of resources available to water purveyors, and the increasing threat of drinking water contamination.

Prior to law school, I helped countless communities achieve and maintain compliance with drinking water quality standards. I learned how to design, implement, and manage drinking water quality programs at my first professional job with California American Water. I took that information to my next position with the California Rural Water Association where I traveled throughout Northern California to help communities manage water quality problems. One of my most notable achievements was helping the County of Lake become eligible for green infrastructure to mitigate the severity and abundance of harmful algal blooms in Clear Lake, which serves as the drinking water supply for 60% of the County’s population. I later presented my research on Clear Lake at two National Rural Water Association conferences and on a local television channel in the County of Lake.

I also independently built a water quality and regulatory compliance department at the Specialized Utility Services Provider, Inc. (SUSP) in 2023-2024. On my own initiative, I developed the departmental structure, operations plan, job descriptions, task management system, internal filing structure, and an in-depth training program. I hired three employees to run the department before I left to attend law school. The department has since grown and continues to thrive today.

I put my dreams of going to law school on hold so that I could establish a financial foundation for myself and my family. As a first-generation Hispanic working mother from a socially disadvantaged background, I greatly appreciate Salvado Law’s commitment to first- generation students. Without representation of different ethnicities, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds, we further perpetuate the stigma that underrepresented students must settle for less. Opportunities like the Dream Chaser Scholarship help break down the inherent obstacles that non-traditional law students face in pursuing higher education.

I was never given the resources that many of my college peers had such as private schools, tutors, or educated parents. Rather, my accomplishments are a product of my own perseverance, grit, and determination. I faced far more hardship than many of my peers in college but still graduated with highest honors, and I obtained my master’s degree while working full-time. I am one of four student mothers in my 1L class, but I still received the highest grade on my research memo. If anything, my diverse background has made me stronger and more capable.

From my uncle’s drowning, to becoming a lifeguard, studying water resources, and pursuing water law, water has been a core theme in my life for over eighteen years. The reason why I am in law school today can be traced back to that fateful day in 2006 when I was unable to save my uncle from drowning. Adversity taught me the value of hard work, instilled compassion for others, and made me deeply appreciate my accomplishments. As a non- traditional student with an advanced degree and the maturity that comes from substantial work and life experience, I am an excellent candidate for Salvado Law’s Dream Chaser Scholarship. Thank you for taking the time to consider my application and I look forward to hearing from you soon.