Mahala Higginbotham - Marshall Scholarship Nominee

Mahala Higginbotham, from Red Oak, Texas, is the daughter of Mark Higginbotham and Kathy Hodges and a graduate of Red Oak High School. Higginbotham graduated with honors distinction from KU in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and minor in anthropology. She is preparing for a career in global interfaith reconciliation. Her undergraduate studies converged on a passion for cultural exchange. Working with KU’s Emerging Scholars research assistant program and the Project on the History of Black Writing, which is dedicated to the archivization and preservation of Black literature, Higginbotham focused on the importance of multicultural education and intercultural healing. In 2021, Higginbotham presented research on spirituality and self in “Meridian” by Alice Walker at the Humanities Education and Research Association conference, and under a research grant from KU in 2023, she researched religious and sociopolitical pressures on Transylvania during the reign of the Ottoman Empire while at a funerary excavation with Archaeotek. She currently works at a community mental health center in preparation for a career in community-oriented approaches to interfaith healing.

Fun facts:

• Mahala's favorite art technique is watercolor.
• Her favorite KU memory is working for the History of Black Writing research project. The Wescoe office felt like a home away from home when she was on campus.
• Her favorite study spot was the fourth floor West Stacks at Watson Library due to the immaculate window views.