Bonnie Higdon Reaves was born Bonnie Mae Higdon July 15, 1901, at Higdon's Store, Georgia, into a family that cared much about education. At the age of 15, Bonnie accompanied her older sister, Gertrude, to take the teacher's exam. Bonnie decided to take it, too, for "the experience. " To her surprise and delight, she passed it!
At age 16 Bonnie began teaching, and continued her own education at the Mary P. Willingham School. She graduated there in 1921, attended Lincoln Memorial University where she taught in the "Opportunity School, " and later taught in Knox County and Knoxville, Tennessee city schools. She received a B.S. in education from the University of Tennessee.
Mrs. Reaves' interest and support of the Truett-McConnell College Epworth campus is related to her own education experience as a girl of the north Georgia mountain area. She sees the role of this campus as having a tremendous influence on young men and women of this area. "The Truett-McConnell Epworth campus will be a beacon for education in the mountains into the 21st Century."
The Bonnie Higdon Reaves Campus of Truett-McConnell College at Epworth, Georgia was formally opened and dedicated on September 27, 1992.
