Through the Dobbs Farm, Maggie Higginbotham ’25 Discovered Her Love of Nature and Science

Maggie Higginbotham ’25 didn’t know that a simple offer to help on the Katherine and John Dobbs Farm would uncover her life’s calling. On the farm, she realized how curious she could be about nature and how much she loves the outdoors. Working with farm director Alison Chesney planted a seed in Maggie – an idea that she, too, could one day do something similar. “My passion for nature started at the farm and led to something that I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

Maggie has attended Hutchison since pre-kindergarten and calls the school her “second home.” Now a senior, she plans to attend the University of Vermont to study forestry. Over four years, Maggie has become a consistent volunteer and a thoughtful steward of sustainability. She credits Chesney as one of her most influential mentors. “When I’m out on the farm, I learn as much as I would in one of my classrooms. Mrs. Chesney is so perceptive and ready to answer any of the questions that I have,” she said.

Maggie is grateful to Hutchison teachers for helping her explore science beginning at a young age. She recalled fond memories of going to the farm as a younger Hutchison girl: “I remember we used to all have our little rain boots, and we kept them at school. It was always a special time to be able to march out there in our rain boots and play in the dirt and discover different fruits, vegetables, and plants… and worms, too.”

Hutchison instilled a lifelong love of learning and fostered her curiosity by making it hands-on and interactive from the start, she said. She remembers learning about important lab concepts such as independent and dependent variables in lower school, and she felt prepared when she got to upper school.

“When I got to high school and I was taking AP-level classes, labs were no big deal, and I knew how to do them. I could focus more on the subject matter,” she said. “AP Environmental Science helped develop my interest in the environment, and then AP Biology helped me dig deeper into the science of the outdoors.”

In exploring the links between science, community, and real-world change, Maggie contributed to local environmental projects, worked with 901 POP, a nonprofit that repurposes floral arrangements for nursing homes, completed a summer program at Smith College focusing on sustainability, and interned at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Hutchison connected Maggie to the Memphis Botanic Garden, where she worked with two female horticulturalists and assisted them with their day-to-day tasks. “It was really cool to see what my future could look like,” she said.

Maggie is an AP Scholar with Distinction and the recipient of last year's Yale University Book Award, which recognizes a student “who possesses a sharp and inquiring mind coupled with a capacity and a desire to use it, motivation to stretch one’s capacity, and moral concern and consideration for others.” Her curiosity and initiative have also led her to pursue diverse interests and make a positive impact on the Hutchison community. She serves as Honor Council vice president, participates in the Facing History Club, is a leader of the Chinese Language Club, was a member of the varsity swim team, taught civil discourse to 9th graders, and is part of the entrepreneurship cohort of the myExperience program. 

Her internship at the Memphis Botanic Garden served as inspiration for her myExperience capstone project: an ecological botanic garden. She describes it as similar to the Memphis Botanic Garden or the Dixon Gallery & Gardens, except it features only native plants. Her innovative design and business plan, which included a pollinator garden, a farmers market, and a garden paying tribute to how Native Americans traditionally grew crops, received an Award of Distinction from the Institute for Responsible Citizenship.

As she enters her final days at Hutchison, she said she still feels the same excitement as her first day of school. “I was jumping up and down, so ready to go to school with my mom. Since then, that’s how I feel every day, getting ready to go to school,” she said.

“All the wonderful people at Hutchison make you feel safe, and they make you feel ready to grow. I was very timid when I was little, and I’ve grown into a much more of a leader and somebody who’s very sure of themselves and confident in their abilities.”