George Edward Higgs can be defined as a man of standard, morals, and a proud alumnus of Prairie View A&M University. Although Higgs is retired, he’s a man of many hats. He served as president of the PVAMU National Alumni Association from 1985-1987. He’s currently the Executive Director Emeritus of the Prairie View National Alumni Association, serves as president of the Prairie View Athletic Club, Prairie View Chamber of Commerce, and his class of 1956. Higgs has achieved much in life, but attributes all of his success to his humble beginnings.
With six brothers and sisters, Higgs was the fourth born in Ladonia, Tex. During that time, there were no accredited schools in the town, so Higgs had to go to school in Pittsburgh, Tex. After graduation, he was drafted into the Army where he performed two years of service.
With help from the G.I. Bill, in 1952 Higgs enrolled in Prairie View A&M. When reminiscing about that time, Higgs said, “I was a grown man while in PV, I was just trying to get in and get out. Times were nice, the campus is nothing like it is now, and we got by on the bare minimum. Our recreation center was like an old Army World War II barracks.”
Four years later, in 1956 Higgs received his undergraduate degree in mathematics with a minor in business administration. He later received a Masters in mathematics (1969).
After his time on campus, Higgs got married and settled in the community of Prairie View. Together, he and his wife, Olivette Jackson Higgs, had two children, Cherie and Marcus. Although his children both received their bachelor degrees from the University of North Texas, they received their master’s degree from Prairie View. Cherie has two sons who kept the Prairie View legacy alive. Carleton Singleton, who graduated in Spring 2008, is now enrolled in the University of North Carolina’s Medical School in Chapel Hill. Her second son, Clinton, is currently a sophomore chemistry major. Marcus has a three-year-old daughter, Morgan Alicia Higgs.
Higgs’ first job was as a math teacher at the Prairie View Training School, which is now Jones Elementary. He taught at the Prairie View Training School for three years and then moved to Waller High School with the distinction as the first black math teacher there. They currently have five. Later, he became the school district’s program director.
While at Waller, he taught all the math classes from ninth to 12th grade. He dedicated 23 years to Waller High School and retired in 1988. Even though Higgs was retired, he wasn’t done working. He moved on to teach in Prairie View A&M’s Math Department for 12 years, only putting the job down when his wife became ill. In 2008, Olivette Higgs passed away.
Higgs is now focusing on getting a new stadium for Prairie View. He currently has plans in place for a raffle that he will push during homecoming.
When speaking of his years at Prairie View, Higgs said, “It’s like a family, you’re not a number at this school. Teachers know your name; you have that family touch here. You can be a big fish in a small pond, rather than a fish in an ocean.”
"Written By: Richard R. White, Class of 2009.
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