10/4/22
The hallway that connects the cafeteria with the library still smells the same over at Alma Intermediate School. The high-pitched voices of boys and girls still sound familiar, too.
For Rachel James, strolling through the hallways at Alma Intermediate School is like stepping into a time machine. The same envious smiles she had as a girl are now a reflection of reality.
Rachel James is the homecoming queen.
“I remember when they would come and walk the halls,” reflects James. “Looking back, that was me at one time looking up to those girls. Now, I can go full circle.”
The senior volleyball standout says she was taken aback at being named homecoming queen.
On Friday, with her parents, Tony and Melissa, by her side, James will be crowned homecoming queen prior to Alma’s 5A-West football game with Pea Ridge.
“I wasn’t really expecting it,” she said. “It’s a really big honor to get voted in. What I’m really excited about is going to the primary school to be with the little kids.”
“Our younger students are always watching,” Alma High School principal Brian Kirkendoll said. “They need positive, encouraging, and ambitious high school students to model what right looks like.
“Rachel emulates all things that are positive and our youngest generation of Airedales need that.”
Alma Intermediate School principal Kim Loughridge concurs.
“We want all of our kids to have good role models, whether that’s an older student or a staff member,” she said. “I think it also speaks to how important role models are. Kids need people to look up to; it’s critical.”
Family support
James’ dad, Tony, was one of Alma coach Frankie Vines’ steady quarterbacks back in the 1990s. During volleyball season, James’ extended family fills up two rows while cheering on the girl in the No. 10 jersey.
“I’m the third generation of my family to go to Alma and they set the foundation for me,” James said. “I have the support from my family in everything I do. You look up there during the game and you see a whole section of my family. They’ve done a very good job of raising me.”
“They’re generations of Airedales,” Alma volleyball coach Kim Weaver said. “I think that’s a picture of what’s really amazing about Alma. We (coaches) have a responsibility to contribute to this community, to enjoy this community, and to celebrate it.
“Her family steps into that role week after week, and celebrates the accomplishments of the most current Airedale in their family.”
Weaver’s daughter, Harper, is among those impressionable third-graders whose eyes are locked in on older kids.
“I’ve hit the lottery in putting so many role models in front of Harper,” Weaver said. “It’s a very organic thing. It’s not like we’re sitting her down and saying, ‘Learn from Rachel and learn from Jenna (Williams). She’s paying attention. She’ll (Harper) tell me, ‘Well, I want to wear my hair like Rachel.
“I’ve told this group several times, if Harper grows up to be the type of leader these kids are, I’ll be the happiest mom in the world.”
Strong schools
For James, who is among a select group of Alma seniors vying for Valedictorian, seeing the glow on a young child’s face is worth her weight in gold.
“I had a CSL class this year and I see how the teachers are talking to the kids,” James said. “If you think about it, that’s when it starts. And in high school, we have amazing teachers, too.”
Like her older sister, Aubrey, Rachel plans on attending the University of Central Arkansas. That’s where the similarities end.
Rachel, quiet and soft-spoken, took it upon herself to shed her shyness during her freshman year of high school. It was all going to plan, too, until schools shut down in mid-March of 2019-20 school year because of COVID.
James didn’t waver, however.
“It’s been a lot of getting out of my comfort zone and trying new things,” James said. “My freshman year, I never wanted to take part in leadership roles. I was always like, ‘Other people can do that; it’s someone else’s job.’
“Then I realized that that was something I wanted to do.”
So much so, in fact, she decided to run for Student Council President. And she won.
“I wanted to get out of my comfort zone and do something for our school because they (administration) do a lot for us,” James said. “I was very quiet and to myself in middle school. And I guess after my freshman year I decided I really want to be more outgoing.”