MU senior Alex Higginbotham (pictured with Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley) put his political science education to work, spending time in Jefferson City and being active with MSA.
Black and Gold might actually run through Alex Higginbotham’s bloodstream. Not only did both of his parents attend Mizzou, but three of his grandparents, two of his cousins, two aunts, an uncle and great-grandfather did as well.
“My family members have been Tigers for generations and will continue to be for generations to come,” Higginbotham said. “No other school in this area can match the kind of diverse student body and range of possibilities and opportunities that Mizzou offers.”
A political science and sociology double major, Higginbotham got involved in student government right away. The Missouri Students Association is the recognized undergraduate student government at MU. As a freshman, Higginbotham served as a senator before becoming chair of the Campus and Community Relations committee. This year, he was elected to serve as secretary of Policy and Advocacy.
“Mizzou broadened my understanding of the world and allowed me to experience valuable professional opportunities,” Higginbotham said. “It also has helped me meet some of the most incredible people I have had the pleasure of knowing.”
Higginbotham has spent the past four years working on sexual assault prevention through his positions in student government. After meeting with the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center, True North, the MU Counseling Center, the Student Health Center, MU Police Department, Boone County Sheriff’s Department and the Civil Rights and Title IX Office, Higginbotham helped create an online sexual assault resource guide that is now housed on the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center’s website.
“One of the major recurring issues I have noticed working on the issue of sexual assault for four years now is that when survivors decide to take the brave step of seeking help, it can be overwhelming to locate the proper resources,” Higginbotham said. “The online resource guide that we created lists all of the resources available both on our campus and in the community in one, centralized location.”
Higginbotham also created a list of phone numbers in the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center for survivors who want to call after standard business hours. Now, survivors will have the option to either leave a message or be transferred to True North’s 24-hour sexual violence hotline or the MU Counseling Center’s 24-hour crisis line.
Ready to start the next chapter of his life, Higginbotham will begin law school at UMKC in August.
“My advice to new students is to come to Mizzou with an open mind and get involved as much as possible,” he said. “Mizzou offers opportunities that no other school can. If you seize them, you will soon find that the sky is the limit.”
