NORFOLK, Va. — How do you describe a volunteer museum docent who is truly immersed in the arts? The staff at the Chrysler Museum of Art call her Barbara Higgins.
They describe her as an avid educator, and volunteer, and nominated her as a News 3 Everyday Hero. Higgins has been a volunteer docent at the Chrysler Museum of Art since 2009, where she brings her expertise as a retired Norfolk Public School principal. As an educator for over 30 years, volunteering as a docent was a natural fit. For Barbara, her passion for the Chrysler Museum harkens back to her own family history.
“About 50 years ago my grandmother was one of the first African American docents at this very museum, and so 50 years later, when I retired, I thought 'why not?' I’m doing what Grandma would have loved," said Higgins.
As a docent, Barbara is specially trained to educate and interact with museum visitors of all ages about art in the museum’s exhibitions and collections. For over a decade, she has been an Operation Smile volunteer which has taken her around the world. Her favorite saying is “All is well,” and that is very much her outlook on life.
For those reasons and many more, Barbara Higgins is this week’s News 3 and Southern Bank's, “Everyday Hero.” Southern Bank is also honoring her work by giving her a $300 dollar Visa gift card!
