By Erica Thomas, managing editor
TRUSSVILLE — A local Girl Scout, Hewitt-Trussville senior and voice for combatting distracted driving, was one of 300 students on a Zoom call with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Alex Rudick has become well-known in the state of Alabama and beyond, during her campaign to stop distracted driving. Her driving force behind the effort was inspired by the death of her cousin, Jessica Bulter, who died in a crash in 2017.
Rudick worked as an ambassador for Girl Scout Troup 872. She won a National Gold Award for her project and stayed in contact with lawmakers about proposed legislation to tighten Alabama’s laws on distracted driving.
Because of her outstanding efforts, Rudick was invited to be a part of a virtual graduation ceremony that will be aired on CNN on Sunday, May 23. Vice President Harris was the keynote speaker and she honored 2021 graduates for their struggle through a year of a pandemic.
Rudick said she was honored to be a part of the program.
“It was nice to see that our Vice President is recognizing the tough year we have been through as students,” Rudick said.
Harris told the students she was there for them and she even took questions from the group. Just being on a Zoom call with the Vice President was an opportunity and an honor Rudick will never forget.
“Politics aside, it is so awesome to just be in someone’s presence that has worked so hard to get to that point,” Rudick said. “I’ve worked hard on my project and it’s nice to see other women that are up there and doing the same thing. I really appreciated how they did it and it was put together really well. I’m a small-town girl from Alabama but our Vice President reached out to me.”
Another aspect of the experience that Rudick appreciated was the fact that Harris is a female and it offered a sense of empowerment.
“Women like that didn’t start off not wanting to work hard. It all started from them being driven to get stuff done,” Rudick said. “Obviously, she [Vice President Harris] had to work hard to get there and that makes me feel like I’m not alone in my hard work. It’s just so cool. I couldn’t help but smile because just seeing her there and talking and inspiring women across the United States and even the world is just awesome.”
Rudick didn’t get a chance to ask a question but she said it was great to hear the questions other students asked and the answers Harris gave them.
“How she answered them was really nice,” she explained. “The way she said everything and gave advice like, ‘Do your best’ and ‘There are going to be challenges ahead but just know that as long as you do your best and you work as hard as you possibly can, then that’s all you can do.’ You know, hearing that from her is especially cool. It was just an honor to be there.”
With 299 other students, Rudick is thankful for the opportunity to see other students facing similar challenges. The Zoom call lasted about an hour and segments from it will be on “Graduation 2021: A CNN Special Event”. The special starts at 6 p.m.
As for Rudick, her campaign to stop distracting driving won’t end after her graduation from high school. She said she will continue to work towards getting a bill passed as she attends the University of Alabama and begins her road to becoming a Nurse Practitioner.