Rae Anne was born in Fairbanks, AK and grew up in a trailer park; she admits that she didn't have good parenting growing up and essentials like food were scarce at times. She would grow an affinity for elementary school because of the troublesome home she grew up in. In high school, she began feeling like she couldn't fit in and ended up dropping out of school, which would lead her to not having a real home and eventually getting pregnant while not being able to support herself. 

After getting pregnant, Rae Anne realized it was a wake-up call and began looking for ways to dig herself out of the financial hole she was in. The University of Washington offered her a scholarship because she was economically disadvantaged, and she would go on to earn her bachelor's in mechanical engineering while working multiple jobs at restaurants & bars. 

After graduating college, Rae Anne would receive multiple job offers from companies and she would take the lowest-paying offer (explained in the podcast). After 18 years, she found herself working at the largest mechanical construction company in Seattle, making a great living wage. Was this all she ever wanted? Would Rae Anne quit her job and risk it all to start her own engineering firm? And, why in the world would she do that?!

Today, Rushing designs engineering systems for commercial buildings in the pacific northwest, has over 300 employees, and is thriving beyond what Rae Anne ever could've imagined when she was in her twenties.