{"id":7138,"date":"2024-09-21T11:23:48","date_gmt":"2024-09-21T16:23:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=7138"},"modified":"2024-09-21T11:34:09","modified_gmt":"2024-09-21T16:34:09","slug":"student-spotlight-mason-higginbotham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=7138","title":{"rendered":"Student Spotlight: Mason Higginbotham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mason Higginbotham is turning a childhood necessity into an avenue for students to explore their creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up with a very poor family where I had to sew my own toys \u2026 I built an Iron Man suit out of scraps that had a working light bulb for the arch reactor,\u201d Mason said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted \u2026 to give kids opportunities because I believe there should be a third place where kids can go to learn skills. And not all of them want to be in theater, but they want to learn how to 3-D print; they want to learn how to code; they want to learn how to make things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mason, a 24-year-old Master\u2019s of Arts in Theater student, is in his third year of teaching theater arts at New Boston High School. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mason Higginbotham and two of his theater students traveling to Austin for a state UIL competition.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He first began his journey into theater as a high school student at Texas High. He said it was a way of following in his brother\u2019s footsteps and meet girls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…I was like, \u2018That sounds interesting.\u2019 And, you know, I was a high school boy and there were girls in theater \u2026 I can do the tech stuff, I can build stuff, do all the manly stuff,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His first year, he worked in the technical and production sides of his high school theater program before trying out and winning a leading role in the high school musical. He continued to learn and grow in theater arts throughout high school and into college, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Theater with a minor in Film Studies from the University of Central Arkansas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Mason enjoys teaching at the high school level, his ultimate goal is to open a business where he can create a makers\u2019 space for anyone interested in exploring creativity, no matter their economic status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want anyone to have the opportunity to do things they can\u2019t afford \u2026 I don\u2019t want there to be barriers for a kid to want to be able to be creative,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mason Higginbotham is turning a childhood necessity into an avenue for students to explore their creativity. \u201cI grew up with a very poor family where I had to sew my own toys \u2026 I built an Iron Man suit out … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[141],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3odG9-1R8","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4269,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=4269","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":0},"title":"Students Crossed Paths with Local Businesses","author":"Tiffany Brown","date":"November 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"TAMUT students networked with local employers through the Career Development Center networking event, Cross Paths. Employees guided and made connections with student attendees on the University Center's third floor Thursday afternoon, November 1. \"Today we have a networking event. This is for our students to mix with employers, meet them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "A&M"","block_context":{"text":"A&M","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?cat=311"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eagleeyemedia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/DSC_0116-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6981,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=6981","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":1},"title":"Paul Goodchild : New Professor On the Block","author":"Mason Smallwood","date":"October 15, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Professor Paul Goodchild is a new assistant professor in the accounting department here on campus. Meeting him was a real treat that allowed some insight on both the life of a professor, along with someone who cares deeply about student concerns and needs. Paul hails from Massachusetts where he grew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Uncategorized"","block_context":{"text":"Uncategorized","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?cat=141"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1445,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=1445","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":2},"title":"FEATURE: International Journey to Success","author":"Percy Davis","date":"October 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Percy Davis \u201cSuccess is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful,\u201d Albert Schweitzer. This is a quote that Jennifer Melissa Felps took with her through this journey we call life. Jennifer was born in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Business"","block_context":{"text":"Business","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?cat=209"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7042,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=7042","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":3},"title":"Are You Game?","author":"Mason Smallwood","date":"November 11, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"As announced on October 25th, 2023, Texarkana A & M University Texarkana plans on expanding its athletic programs come the new year. Among the planned additions, Varsity Esports is one that may catch the attention of some students. For the past four years, the Esports club on campus has been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Uncategorized"","block_context":{"text":"Uncategorized","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?cat=141"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3525,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=3525","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":4},"title":"Tex*Rep Rolls with Ogres and Giant Peaches","author":"Noah Rathburn","date":"April 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"A lovable ogre and a giant peach launch Tex*Rep's 28th season. Shrek The Musical\u00a0opens on Friday, May 4th at 7:30, with performances on Saturday evening at 7:30, and on Sunday at 2:00 at the Stilwell Theatre in the Texarkana College Humanities Building. Shrek will run on the same schedule the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Arts"","block_context":{"text":"Arts","link":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?cat=210"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7103,"url":"https:\/\/eagleeyemedia.org\/?p=7103","url_meta":{"origin":7138,"position":5},"title":"Boycotting Starbucks : Why?","author":"Mason Smallwood","date":"December 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Recent world tensions have trickled into a main focus of young social media users and some of our beloved brands have taken a side that many do not stand for. 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