Rachel Brewster works at AMSG on the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Secure Transportation (OST) Contract in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a Budget Analyst. In addition to her role with AMSG she is also a full time Psychology student at New Mexico University, and a wife. While these commitments require most of her time and energy, she still finds time to pursue and polish up on her hobbies which include Pilates, tumbling, writing, painting, embroidery, sewing, reading, baking, singing, and playing the guitar, with the latest being archery.
Her journey into archery began when she was only six years old. Until she was five years old, she spent every weekday, and sometimes even weekends, at her grandparent’s home in Albuquerque, New Mexico while her parents worked. Every morning, she would wrap herself up in a blanket and get into her dad’s old Ford Ranger at 5 AM to be dropped off at her grandparent’s house on her father’s way to work. She would spend hours every day with her grandparents, Linda and Richard, exploring and sharing their hobbies. Some of her grandma’s hobbies that she dabbled in were painting, embroidery, sewing, reading, and baking. Some of her grandpa’s hobbies that she explored were singing, playing the guitar, and finally, archery. She still practices many of these hobbies today as her grandparents’ influence has become an integral part of her identity.
One of her fondest memories with her grandpa is the day that he showed her how to shoot his traditional long bow in their backyard. Her grandpa, belonging to the Dine (Navajo) Tribe, was passed down that bow through generations of his family. Rachel was a bit too small for her grandpa’s bow, but that did not matter. Her interest in archery became solidified in that moment.
As the years went by and she spent less time with her grandparents and more time with school, she rarely practiced archery, except for when she was with her grandpa on the occasional weekend.
One day in middle school, she heard that the school was starting an archery club and she joined up. When she told her grandpa that she had joined this club, he was overjoyed and so proud that she was going to be pursuing this hobby again. He attended her competitions and supported her at every opportunity. He even drove through a winter storm for three hours to attend one of her competitions.
Only five months after the final competition though, he passed away on May 3rd, 2015.
In February, Rachel and her husband decided to move in with her widowed grandma to care for her as she was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Rachel decided that since 2025 would mark ten years without her grandpa, she would honor him through taking up archery again, in the very backyard in which she found a passion for the hobby.
She is so grateful to AMSG for making this possible. Because of the hobby program, she has been able to honor and carry her grandpa with her in a very real and tangible way that she has never been able to do before. Because of the hobby program, one of her best friends, proudest supporters, and biggest influences, has been immortalized and brought back into her life through this hobby.
Written by: Rachel Brewster and Juania Owens