Rachel Meinke ’18
Tell us a little about yourself!
Hi, my name is Rachel! I was born and raised in Florida. I work as a Marketing & Events Coordinator for my local Chamber of Commerce. Outside of work, I love spending time with my two dogs, a corgi named Cooper and a rescue mix named Bella. I love doing Pilates, competitively weight lifting, and I’m slightly too invested in my fantasy football team. I listen to primarily musicals and love a spontaneous trip, especially if my dogs can come.
When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I started writing as a child, it’s hard to know exactly when. I always made up stories, played pretend, and lived in my own world. And one day I just started writing it down. I started sharing my work online at 15, but never considered it anything more than a hobby, something I did in my free time. Like playing soccer and singing in show choir. It wasn’t until I got to college that I realized that I loved writing more than I’d ever loved my major. It was the first time I thought that it didn’t just have to be a hobby, I could really do something with the stories I’m writing. I was working as a freelance author, writing stories under contracts for companies. And I started taking my own work seriously, and the right opportunity came at the right time.
What’s your writing process? What inspires your writing?
I am very character-driven in my stories, so the first thing I do in my writing process is build a character from ground up. I develop their entire backstory and how we got to the starting page of the novel, so I’m intimately familiar with their choices and motivations leading into the novel. It’s a very long writing process but it’s one that has served me well.
What was the biggest thing you learned during your time as a Knight that you apply to your life today?
Learning to be okay with changing direction has stuck with me. I don’t think you have to have everything figured out just because you’ve chosen a major or started down a certain career path. Sometimes figuring out what you don’t want is just as important as figuring out what you do.
What was a class or club at UCF that helped you grow as a writer?
I majored in Sport & Exercise Science, so I didn’t have an experience of taking writing classes at UCF. I did get to take Yoga though! I was involved with Active Minds, a student organization centered around mental health awareness and advocacy. Mental health and the more complicated parts of people’s lives have become themes I’m drawn to exploring in my writing, and I think that experience helped me become more comfortable approaching those topics with empathy.
Who are some of your favorite authors or books?
My favorite author has to be Taylor Jenkins Reid. And some of my favorite novels are Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow, Red White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, and Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo.
If UCF had a time machine, what moment on campus would you go back to?
The first home game win after our 0–12 season! I went to every home game during that losing season, so I feel like I earned the right to relive that first win. After an entire season of showing up and watching us lose week after week, finally getting to celebrate a win in the Bounce House was pretty unforgettable.
If your UCF experience were a meme, what would it be?
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it really, really well.”
What are you currently working on right now?
I’m working on a novel that explores eating disorders in professional level athletics.
Anything else you want to share?
I think there’s something really full-circle about coming back to UCF for an event as an author. When I was a student, writing was something I did on the side while working toward a completely different career. I wouldn’t have imagined then that I’d someday be coming back to campus because of it, and I’m really excited to have that opportunity.
