Former Higgins students-turned-athletes return for school meet-and-greet
Three alumni who now play university and professional sports visited Dr. Gordon Higgins School on the last day of Grade 9, inspiring current students with their journey.
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What's usually a bittersweet last day of Grade 9 became a moment of real inspiration at Dr. Gordon Higgins School when three former students who've made it in professional and university sports returned to meet with younger Hawks.
Moose Haymour, an assistant coach with the Calgary Surge; Marjok "MJ" Okado, a Carleton Ravens basketball player who now plays for the Surge; and Darius Redhead, who plays football for the Calgary Dinos, spent the day with the school's current Grade 7s, Grade 8s, and Grade 9s.
For Dibora, a departing Grade 9 student, the visit meant everything. "I find this really inspirational. They're just students just like us in the school, and all their dreams, they got it," she said. "With activities like this, we all come together to be a family, basically for the last time. We're making core memories before we leave."
The event grew from a conversation earlier this year when the school community cheered on Okado at USports Basketball Nationals. When he played an exceptional first game before being injured, and then watched his team advance to the finals, teacher Andy Brar — who won the 2025 Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence — had an idea: bring the three successful alumni back to show younger students what's possible.
"The idea really was planted when we went as a school to cheer on Marjok at the nationals, and he played a phenomenal first game and was sadly hurt, but then the Ravens rode all the way to the finals," Brar said. "We were brainstorming ideas and it's amazing when you have two classmates and teammates that are also successful. I think it really sets the standard for these kids when you see representation like this, where other schools have to Google these leaders, we just have them in our community."
For the three athletes, giving back was a no-brainer. Haymour said his favourite memory from Higgins was watching Okado dunk on a classmate during lunch-time pickup basketball. Both Okado and Redhead highlighted the early morning training sessions and time spent with friends — including the tradition of walking to the leisure centre after Friday practice to grab butter chicken wraps.
"During our time, we didn't have anyone as examples to come back to the school to actually speak to them and learn from their experiences," Redhead said. "So it's good for us to give back to the youth the same way anyone would have if they were in our position."