Tharptown valedictorian a true ambassador for his school, community

If administrators at Tharptown High School ever wanted to craft the ideal valedictorian, they could look first at Class of 2026 valedictorian Cesar Rueda.

The son of Julio and Ada Rueda, Cesar is everything positive about the educational experience at Tharptown High School.

Rueda started at Tharptown in kindergarten. It’s the only school he’s ever known, and Rueda knows it well.

He was a varsity letterman in basketball, soccer and Tharptown’s talented cross country team. He was also on Tharptown’s 2026 rocketry team that recently competed at nationals.

Rueda served this year as Senior Class President and was a member of the Spanish Club and TLC, Tharptown Leaders of Communication, a school club that works with students whose native language is something other than English, to help them become English proficient.

Rueda, who is fluent in both Spanish and English, said the program works in large part because students feel comfortable working with other students on language barriers.

“A lot of students get nervous talking to adults or teachers, but they see someone in their peer group willing to help them, and they get more comfortable and confident,” Rueda said. 

Starting this fall, Rueda will attend the University of North Alabama, where he received multiple scholarships that will cover the cost of his education.

He plans to major in Engineering Technology, with a minor in Occupational Health and Safety.

Rueda hopes to become a field service engineer with his dual credit degree that includes both mechanical and electrical engineering.

Field service engineers travel to client sites to install, repair, maintain and/or troubleshoot software systems and highly technical equipment.

Rueda received a valedictorian scholarship, Tennessee Valley Scholarship, Franklin County Cattlemen’s Association scholarship, and leadership, leadership housing and academic scholarships from UNA. 

With several dual enrollment courses under his belt, Rueda already has a head start toward his degree.

In addition to being part of TLC, Rueda’s seventh period his senior year saw the valedictorian translating and tutoring non-English fluent middle school students along with helping them with school work.

More than half of Tharptown’s 53 graduating seniors in the Class of 2026 were Hispanic. The school’s Hispanic enrollment continues to surge, something that began several years ago when Russellville City Schools imposed annual tuition for students living outside the Russellville city limits.

“The Hispanic community is a big part of both Russellville and Tharptown,” Rueda said. “For me, it always felt comfortable here at Tharptown. And it’s rewarding to help other students who don’t know our native language or things we take for granted. Some don’t know what it means to go to a Burger King or McDonald’s, so they have to learn a new culture and a new language. We try to help them feel a little more comfortable here from where they came from, which is very different.”

For Rueda, being disciplined and dedicated to academics was something he was largely self-driven to do.

As with many younger siblings, though, a little friendly competition with his older sister Julia, a Tharptown and UNA graduate who finished in the top 10 of her class, gave Rueda that little push whenever he needed it.

Rueda received an exemption from UNA waiving the on-campus residency requirement for freshmen, and he will commute from home and remain with his extremely close-knit family.

Staying close to home will also be a factor when the day comes for Rueda to select an employer.

“I’m a big family person. I love my family, so I couldn’t imagine being across the country,” Rueda said. “I’d like to stay near home. Huntsville remains a growing area and I’m hoping it find an internship or job in Huntsville while attending classes at UNA.

“But if there’s a better opportunity for me away from home down the road, God willing, I would look into it, but for now, staying in my home and in this community is something I wanted to continue after high school,” he added.

Rueda said his education was influenced positively by so many educators, but he’ll always appreciate Samantha Flannagin, his government and economics teacher who also helped with the rocketry team’s trip to Washington, D.C.

“She was a chaperone on our trip. I’ll always remember it was scary going into my senior year, knowing it was the last year of high school and you just didn’t know what to expect. But Ms. Flannagin took me under her wing all these years,” Rueda said. “I was in her room (before she was his teacher) for translating and she would always advise me and encourage me, almost like a mother figure.

“I have a wonderful mother at home and I had someone at school I considered my ‘school mother.’ I’ll always appreciate her and what she did for me. She’s been an amazing person in my life and inspired me in a lot of ways,” he added.

When asked how he would describe his high school and community to someone unfamiliar with Tharptown, Rueda didn’t hesitate in his answer.

“I’ll say I went to Tharptown High School in Franklin County in northwest Alabama. I was part of a community who loves its students,” Rueda said. “There’s so much community support for students and clubs and athletic teams.

“Our whole rocketry trip to Nationals was the result of community support through fundraisers, donations, etc., that allowed us to have a trip that was fully paid for. We had a great year in cross country, our soccer program is growing and improving and the love you get from this community is overwhelming. For a small country school, it’s been a powerful and moving experience to be part of it, especially when I look back now from when I started in kindergarten, when we saw an old school with old buildings. Now there’s so much new and so much to be excited about. It’s been wonderful,” he added.

As we said, if Tharptown ever needs a Chamber of Commerce director, the 2026 THS valedictorian would fit the position perfectly.