Rachel was born and raised in the same area where she lives today. “I was born to two amazing parents, William Michael (“Mike”) and Mary Ann (“Ann”) Parham, in 1986,” she says proudly, making it clear from the moment you start talking to her that her mom and dad have always been instrumental in everything that is good in her life. That year marks a before and after in her family, since, in addition to her birth, it was also when her dad decided to leave his corporate job and start National Development Services (now NDS Construction), which is the company Rachel currently owns and oversees as CEO.

But before we talk about how she ended up on that career path, let’s go back to our timeline. Sixteen months after she was born, her sister Rebecca came along; then, when she was 8, her brother David joined the family. “We had prayed so much for a little brother,” says Rachel; “and when he finally came, we were so happy to have him!”

Their childhood was idyllic. She rode horses. Her sister was a theater kid and scuba diver. Her brother played basketball and video games. “Our parents were very involved in our lives, and they let us pursue our interests,” Rachel says. “We were also always very involved in the family business, cleaning out units, going to 3 a.m. concrete pours with dad, and shopping competitors.”

After high school, Rachel attended Texas A&M, where she selected two majors: political science and renewable natural resources and rangeland ecology and management. The latter one, with a title that’s longer than the alphabet, provided her with many skills she still uses today, such as assessing land and making sure it’s viable for growth. She also studied political science because she wanted to be a lawyer; it was this original dream career that led her to an action-packed youth. She interned at the Department of Justice in the Office of Legislative Affairs for two semesters. As any overachiever would do, while she was off during that summer, she interned at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“That was pretty cool,” she recalls. “I trained at Quantico, and we’d raid houses,” she says as casually as telling you that it’s Tuesday, yet providing context that seems straight out of a movie. “In 2008 to 2009, there was a massive meth problem across the U.S. The No. 1 issue with these facilities is that meth is very explosive, and some of the dealers would set up traps in these homes so that they’d blow up during a raid.” The team she was interning with would track people purchasing the drugs and who was running each lab; they also learned how to handle these dangerous traps.

Waterboarding was a big issue at the time too. “I had to put out briefings for attorneys at the attorney general’s office, as well as for other people in the Department of Justice.”

She loved that time of her life because it was her first time experiencing what it was like to be in an office environment. “I appreciate internship programs because that’s when the real training starts to happen—answering emails in a professional manner, learning what HR does, paying attention to detail. Come in early, stay late. I outworked and outperformed everyone, and I don’t say this to toot my own horn. It was how I was brought up—the work ethic I learned from my parents—and back then, I thought my career path would be in D.C.”

At the time, her dream was still to go to law school. However, she deferred getting a Juris Doctor because she started to realize that a lot of the practice of law entails work outside courtrooms, such as reading contracts and the back and forth of litigation. Eventually, she decided to get a master’s degree in international affairs instead. Even though being a lawyer wasn’t as appealing anymore, she still wanted to continue the career path she was forging. “I wanted to work with the government in some capacity, at the DEA or FBI.”

While working on her master’s, Rachel held several side jobs: headhunter at Novus Medical, bus driver at a sports camp that took kids to and from an afterschool program, and bartending on weekends. “I worked all the time when I wasn’t in school.”

Then she was awarded the Texas A&M Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy internship in the House of Representatives for Congressman Lamar Smith. During this time, she had a big awakening about life in D.C. “Capitol Hill is run on the backs of 20-year-olds,” says Rachel. “You do a lot of work and make no money. It’s also very clique-ish and sleazy.”

While there were people with integrity working alongside her, Rachel says it was hard to find them. “It made me not like politics. I do believe the U.S. has the best democracy, and I’m glad I live here, but I have a problem not calling out injustices or not mentioning the elephant in the room, and as much as I wanted to be in politics my entire life, working there changed my outlook on all of it.” Overall, it was a demoralizing realization. “Here I was, with three degrees, and my dream had imploded.”

By 2012, Rachel became homesick. “When I first started college, my plan was to make my career in D.C.,” she says. “Being in San Antonio wasn’t even on my radar. But all of a sudden, I got this strong desire to come home.”

At first, she thought it would be a good idea to work for her dad, then start her own business. Her father was surprised, especially since she asked to come work with him so soon after the 2008 to 2009 economic crisis. “Back then, he was shocked by my request because he was so near retirement, so he asked me why I’d want to do that. I didn’t quite understand why, but I wanted to be with my family.”

In 2013, Rachel’s dad called to tell her that his development coordinator was leaving and invited her to work in that role if she wanted it. “I packed up everything. I had job offers in D.C. and I said no to all of them. I was coming home, working with my dad, and soaking it all in.”

Since she had grown up being a part of the business, it was easy for her to fit in. She also brought more structure to their processes. “My dad always kept his word, so up until that point he was fine doing handshake deals, but I put everyone under contract.” They developed additional properties, even winning Messenger’s prestigious Facility of the Year award for some of them along the way. Rachel served as project manager for many of those facilities. She loved everything about her new career, and she especially loved spending so much time with her family and learning so much from her dad.

But not everything was going well. In 2014, she noticed her dad wasn’t his usual self. “He was sick, and we didn’t know it,” she says sadly. In November of that year, when they had just started construction for Love’s Storage Solutions in El Paso, Texas, Mike passed away following a massive heart attack. Eleven years later, the heartbreak is still very palpable when Rachel tells the story.

“It was life altering,” she says. “If you know anything about my dad, he was a legend. He helped start a lot of the self-storage associations. He developed consulting criteria and demand analysis. He was a huge contributor to this industry. Both of my parents were.”

When he passed, the Parham family wondered whether to sell or close NDS Construction and just continue to manage the 10-plus Noah’s Ark facilities they currently owned or move forward with future developments. Her mom played a key role in their decision to continue with all Parham Group companies. “My mom, the great thing about her is that you just don’t get her down. She’s an amazing person—a trailblazer. She was one of the first women to graduate from ROTC when women were first allowed to join. She became a commissioned officer. After my dad’s death, we looked at each other and decided not to let the development and construction company go.” This was yet another pivot her life would take, since her plan when she moved back to Texas was to learn the business, then start her own. But her dad’s passing made her want to stay and continue what he had built.

“At the beginning, it all felt like a burden,” says Rachel. “Everything was so hard without my dad here, and I lived in fear that I’d let everyone down.”

Her faith was crucial in getting her through these difficult moments. “That feeling I had back in D.C. to come back home didn’t happen by chance,” she says. “There’s a reason why God called me to come home. That urge had come out of nowhere, and it’s a miracle we’re still here. There were a lot of times when things shouldn’t have worked out, but they did. And I know it’s all been blessings from God. If He wasn’t a part of it, I don’t know where I would be today.”

She’s also clear on her priorities in life. “I’m a Christian first, then comes family, and I feel a strong obligation towards them. Same with the people who work here. Some started in the ‘90s. We have people who’ve been here for over 20 years. My dad loved them, and they loved him back. They take good care of the company. I don’t have to worry about things running smoothly at work. It’s been an eye-opening experience and a blessing to come out on the other side of everything and look at everything we’ve learned and accomplished. It’s also taught me to trust that things will work out, even when they seem difficult at first.”

Today, she feels very optimistic. “The sky’s the limit. I have great people I work with. We’re all on the same mission. I love that we have so many generations here. It’s a good balance. My mom is retired now, but she’s still actively involved because she doesn’t know how to be retired.”

When not working, Rachel loves to read. “I read two books a month: one about leadership or professional development and one for fun.” She loves murder mysteries, the Harry Potter series, “Lord of the Rings,” and “The Hunger Games.” Of course, someone with an unwavering faith like hers is also a fan of C.S. Lewis. She’s also very involved in her church, Community Bible Church, and loves to write. “I’ve been writing since I was really young, and I want to write novels someday.”

Rachel ikes to stay informed about what’s happening in the economy and the world too. “It’s part of my due diligence for the investments and growing our clients.”

And if you’re wondering how she has the time to juggle the million things she does, once again, she credits her faith. “Once I started prioritizing my relationship with God, everything else has fallen into place. It’s amazing how that works. It’s very freeing. I do a lot more because I can balance my time a lot better.”

Looking back at her life, Rachel feels a great sense of peace and accomplishment. “I never thought I’d own my family’s company, have all these successful projects under my belt, and have tons of new projects in predevelopment or under construction. But now that it’s all been said and done, I love it. I wake up every day thrilled that I work with the people that I work with, that we get to do what we do, and that I get to work with my family.”