The 23-year-old graduated from Otago Polytechnic last Friday with a graduate diploma in applied science as a performance analyst.
She was presented with the Ambassador Award last week, an acknowledgement of her professionalism, diligence and positive attitude while studying at Otago Polytechnic.
Higgins, originally from Tauranga, has moved to Cambridge after accepting a paid internship as a performance analyst with Cycling New Zealand next year.
She will be working with the track cycling team as its sole performance analyst, concentrating on endurance and sprint training.
She will travel with the team to the world championships in the Netherlands and the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast early next year.
Higgins is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Cycling New Zealand and is ready for the challenge.
''I'm just super excited and grateful to get stuck in next year,'' she said.
Alongside her role with Cycling NZ, Higgins is also the head performance analyst for the Mystics netball team next year.
She has been a member of the Southern Steel's performance analysis group since last year.
While taking on two roles might seem like a lot for most people, Higgins is taking it in her stride.
''Next year will be a real jugging act for me, with both cycling and netball, but it's a big privilege.''
Higgins was a former New Zealand representative slalom kayaker and was the national under-23 champion in 2016 but had given up to focus on her career.
Hanging up her paddles in late 2016 gave her a ''taste of life'' without competitive sport and her passion was now performance analysis, she said.
Higgins will complete her master's degree in applied science at Otago Polytechnic next year, by correspondence from Cambridge.
