Meet Stella Higdon
Stella Higdon is currently a junior at Hollow Rock - Bruceton Central High School, where she is involved in a multitude of extracurricular activities. She is a Central High School Cheerleader, participates in the Math Club, BETA Club, Chemistry Club, Spanish Club, History Club, Skills USA, "C" Club, Pen Pal Club, JAG, and more! She is especially passionate about volunteering and giving back to her community in Bruceton, Tennessee. Stella aspires to become a veterinarian. She plans to major in Biology at Mississippi State University before attending the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Veterinary Medicine. Her long-term goal is to become the owner and CEO of her own veterinary practice, Eden’s Animal Clinic. Stella has an amazing work ethic. She works part-time as a sales associate at Competitive Designs, babysits when available, and is the owner and CEO of Cedar Street Sweets, a home-based business that provides baked goods for local events.
Stella has a heart for community service. She was recently named an American Heart Association Teen of Impact for her volunteer efforts. She recently teamed up with CupKate’s in Huntingdon for Stella’s Sweet Day. Thirty percent of all sales on this day were donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital for childhood cancer research. She devoted countless hours to organizing and baking for this successful fundraiser. As a freshman in high school, Stella founded and created "The Little Free Pantry" to assist humans and animals with necessities needed to stabilize life. She says that her ten animals play a huge role in her life. She has two dogs, three cats, one fish, one bunny, two turtles, and a bearded dragon.
Through her enjoyment of animals, she rooted a local non-profit organization called "Leashes Leading Love,” which assists in collecting needed food and supplies for local animal shelters. In addition to her academic and service achievements, Stella is a published author of six children’s books. They are Wrigley the Volunteer, Annie the Lucky, Vivi the Bright, Evie the Respectful, Ezzie the Optimist, and Willow the Servant. Each story is inspired by one of her pets and promotes positive character traits. Stella also enjoys competition and has advanced to national levels in both SkillsUSA and BETA Club. This year, she had the opportunity to compete at the JAGTN regional conference in Employability Skills and is looking forward to attending and competing at the state JAG Conference in February. She is also active in pageantry and currently holds the title of Miss Hub City, qualifying her to compete for Miss Tennessee Teen Volunteer in July. She has been named first runner-up the last two years at this pageant.
