Rachel Scott had a theory: If even one person would go out of his way to show compassion, it would start a chain reaction that could touch countless lives.

But Rachel, 17, died in 1999 in a blast of gunfire at Columbine High School. A foundation in her memory, “Rachel’s Challenge,” now carries her message to high schools around the country as a way to prevent teen violence.

Casey Sullivan, now a junior at South Albany High School, heard that message last fall at an Oregon Association of Student Councils conference in Seaside. The message compelled him to work to bring the presentation to South.

“Rachel’s Challenge,” which organizers call a story of courage and hope, will be presented to the public at 5 p.m. Monday in the gymnasium of South Albany High School, 3705 Columbus St. S.E. Admission is free.

South students will see the presentation at a special assembly earlier in the day.

“I think it’s going to be a really good thing for the community, and for students as well as the community,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan was president of his sophomore class last fall when he heard the presentation.

“It kind of just changed my outlook on life and how I saw other people,” he remembered. The central message: “Not putting people down, instead, just being kind to everybody.”

Sullivan wanted to spread that message at his school. He sent an e-mail to the website, www.rachelschallenge.com, which told him to work with Principal Chris Equinoa in organizing a visit.

Although no longer a class officer, Sullivan is still a member of the South Albany Leadership class.

“We voted in Leadership, and it was a unanimous ‘Yes,’ we wanted it at our school,” he said. The class agreed to spend $3,400 in student body funds for the speakers and their travel costs.

“I kind of felt, when I was there, it affected me more than anything I’ve really seen,” Sullivan said. “It had to deal with a real live person. It wasn’t just somebody telling you how to live your life.”

He’s hoping, he said, that people who hear the presentation will “see what Rachel wanted, to eliminate prejudice, spread kindness to everyone, better someone else’s life by talking to them. There’s lots of stories with Rachel’s life and how she changed people’s lives just by talking to them or standing up for them, not doing anything real special, just being kind and being a person to them.”