Alumni Spotlight: Rachel McIntyre-Smith
Rachel McIntyre-Smith was an Oliver Springs graduate of 2015. Rachel was very involved during her time at Oliver Springs High School. She played clarinet in the Oliver Springs High School Marching Band for two years, participated in Theatre Arts for two years, played soccer for one year, and played basketball for two years. She was also class president all four years and Valedictorian of her class. Her other school involvement included planning prom in 2014, building homecoming floats, and representing OSHS for Girls State.
Rachel was an extremely driven and motivated student. With that being said, she accomplished tons while attending college. Rachel attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and graduated in 2019. At UTC, she studied communications and Spanish. Rachel always knew she wanted to be a musician. She knew if she wanted to pursue this career, she needed to gain some life skills and experiences while in college to make music a realistic career path. Through her degree pursuits, she gained those much needed skills. Communications taught her graphic design, photography, videography, social media marketing, audio production, and branding. These skills have helped her out tremendously with her music; she can shoot her own cover art, design her own merchandise, and film her own videos without having to hire someone to do it for her. She later added the Spanish major because of her fascination with the cultures who speak the language and her desire for easier travel opportunities. During college, she was also very involved. During Rachel’s sophomore year, Bill Haslam, the former Governor of Tennessee, selected Rachel to serve on the UT Board of Trustees as the student trustee to represent all the students of the UT System. She would go to all the campuses around the state, talking with the students to hear their concerns and then deliver those concerns to the board. Due to this job, Rachel got the great perk of getting season passes in the UT Skybox for her entire family! In addition to being selected to serve the UT Board, she was part of the Brock Scholars Honors College, the communications honors society, and the Spanish honors society. She served as the marketing and communications coordinator for the Student Government Association. She hosted a radio show for the Chattanooga NPR station, WUTC. Rachel was also involved in the photojournalism department and filmed a documentary in Nicaragua as part of her thesis. Additionally, she interned at a concert venue which gave her the opportunity to go to several free concerts, meet the bands, and take photos.
Rachel has always had a passion for music. She began taking piano lessons at the age of 9. Later on, in 6th grade, she joined the school band playing clarinet. Then, she taught herself guitar and ukulele. Rachel started singing in theatre arts productions during her Junior year. Rachel’s mother, Mrs.Smith, was an English teacher, which gave Rachel the ability to use what her mother had taught her about poetry in her songwriting. She also had a defining experience in a Contemporary Issues class that taught her about the history of rock ‘n’ roll. That class taught her so much about the history of music - so much that it has inspired her music and aesthetic.
Rachel has other sources of income because she pays all of her music expenses herself, which can be very expensive; recording just one song and having it mastered is over $1,000. She is able to afford this because she works full time as a multimedia specialist and worship leader at a church in Chattanooga. For these jobs, she does the graphic design, social media, website, photography, and videography for the church as well as leading music on Sundays.
Rachel is now working on some new projects. Her debut EP “Glory Daze,” which came out this past fall, was featured on BBC Radio and on Spotify Fresh Finds Country Best of 2022! She’s currently working on her first radio campaign, and her song “The Woulds” is in the top 100 of national American radio right now. Rachel just finished recording a fun Christmas song that will come out later this year. She is currently working on releasing an acoustic version of her EP “Glory Daze.”She’s also working on recording a few other new songs and looking forward to playing some more shows.
Rachel’s advice to those still attending high school is, “Don’t be afraid to try a bunch of stuff to find what you enjoy. Doing this is very intimidating, and you don’t want to get roasted by your classmates for looking dumb- but you’ll never find your passions if you don’t try. Auditioning to sing in the high school play was one of the scariest things I ever did, but if I hadn’t taken that step, then I may never have taken the leap to start recording my music.” To stay tuned for all of Rachel’s upcoming stuff, you can find Rachel on social media @rachelmcintyresmith, and her music is on all streaming platforms: just search “Rachel McIntyre-Smith”.
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