Be kind. Look for the best in others. Be compassionate. Don't prejudge others.

That was the message Luke Towle brought to South Albany High School this morning as part of "Rachel's Challenge," a program designed to encourage students to become better people.

Towle, 24, is a friend of the Rachel Scott family of Colorado. Rachel was the first of 13 people killed in the Columbine High School shooting in 1999.

Towle travels all over the United States with a PowerPoint presentation created by a foundation in Rachel's memory to spread the ethics and goals Rachel set for herself and wrote down in an essay a few weeks before she was killed. Developers of "Rachel's Challenge" hope her message about life will foster more compassion among students, resulting in a reduction of teen violence.

Albany police officer Jim Luebke, who watched the presentation this morning and had seen it before, said "It is something definitely worth students seeing. Any anti-bullying message that we can get out to students is a good thing."

Interspersed with television scenes of the massacre and an interview with Rachel's brother Craig, who survived the shooting, Towle challenged students to meet several goals.

They include: Do not be prejudiced toward those different from yourselves, dare to dream, write down your goals so you are more likely to meet them, and follow positive influences.

He drew parallels between Rachel's life and that of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl who died in a concentration camp during World War II.

Both girls died young, both died directly or indirectly because of Hitler, and both wanted the world to remember them for something important and good.

The two Columbine killers embraced Hitler's writings, and the shootings took place on Hitler's birthday.

Towle said millions of people have seen "Rachel's Challenge," which is loaded with stories of how Rachel changed people's lives by talking to them, standing up for them and just being kind to them.

If you go

What: "Rachel's Challenge"

Where: South Albany High School, 3705 Columbus St. S.E.

When: 5 p.m. today

Cost: Free