{"id":2363,"date":"2019-05-10T07:23:51","date_gmt":"2019-05-10T11:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=2363"},"modified":"2019-05-08T14:45:16","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T18:45:16","slug":"class-of-2019-mary-margaret-payne-valedictorian-answers-call-to-religious-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2019\/05\/10\/class-of-2019-mary-margaret-payne-valedictorian-answers-call-to-religious-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2019: Mary Margaret Payne, valedictorian answers call to religious life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Class
Class of 2019 Valedictorian Mary Margaret Payne plans to enter religious life and serve the poor.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Detroit Mercy student Mary Margaret Payne was uncomfortable the first few times she worked with the poor and homeless. She knew she wanted to help, but she also knew she had to leave her comfort zone to be effective.<\/p>\n

Now, as Payne prepares to take the stage on Saturday, May 11 as the 2019 University of Detroit Mercy valedictorian, she is a different person.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that discomfort, I seek that discomfort,\u201d Payne said. \u201cAll the things that I\u2019ve been hesitant to do because they are outside of my comfort zone are ultimately the ones that brought me the most joy, helped me grow the most and were the most fulfilling. Now when I recognize the right kind of discomfort, I know that\u2019s going to be good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne feels a special connection with the poor and hopes to dedicate her life to service as a member of the Community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal in New York.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m halfway through the application process,\u201dshe said. \u201cI have my final visit this summer. I\u2019ve been thinking about joining for a while. I\u2019ve really fallen in love with the poor and the Franciscan Sisters have a ministry of being present with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne is dedicated to helping the poor, but not necessarily by providing food, clothing or shelter. She enjoys getting to know people and feels she can serve them better once they have a connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously my heart breaks for individuals experiencing homelessness and who are without food and clothing, but it has really been on my heart to serve the poverty of loneliness,\u201d Payne said. \u201cPeople who feel unknown and outcast by society. One of the hardest things is when I meet people on the street and they talk about how the people who walk by won\u2019t even look at them. All they want to do is say hi and people won\u2019t even give them a look. That is a very real poverty that people don\u2019t always acknowledge. I think we have to know people before we\u2019re able to serve them properly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne discovered helping the poor was her passion while on an alternative spring break with Detroit Mercy Ministry at Nazareth Farm in West Virginia. Payne\u2019s group thought they were going to a shelter to do repairs, but there was a mix-up and the shelter didn\u2019t have anything for them to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just sat for three hours with people at the shelter,\u201d Payne said. \u201cIt felt like they were really grateful for that. They just wanted to have a conversation. They asked us about what we were studying. It was just a joy being with people. I went into that situation and said, \u2018I\u2019m here to help you fix your building.\u2019 And I was humbled by realizing, \u2018No, I\u2019m not. I\u2019m here to listen to you and know you.\u2019 That\u2019s a big gift, to be given the joy of knowing somebody. I think that was the first encounter I ever really had with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne\u2019s experience at Nazareth Farm led to her spending a summer with Christ in the City in Denver.<\/p>\n

Christ in the City is a Catholic program dedicated to forming young adults, volunteers and the greater community to be lifelong missionaries and to knowing, loving and serving the poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was definitely the most uncomfortable summer of my life,\u201d Payne said. \u201cI went knowing nobody and I had to just start walking down the street and talk to strangers. I\u2019m not that outgoing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every day Payne and other volunteers would go out and start conversations with the poor, often running into the same people on multiple occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would meet them and then as the weeks go on you see the same people and you build friendships,\u201d Payne said. \u201cIt\u2019s really just a humbling experience to see these people in a difficult circumstance and I really can\u2019t do anything to lift them out of that. So my call is just to be there and be present with them. And when there is an opportunity to direct them to more resources, I can do that from a place of love after knowing them personally and knowing their needs, rather than just assuming that they are on the street so they need food and clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The experience in Denver inspired Payne to consider joining the Community of the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey really live very simply and make themselves available to whatever the needs are of the community,\u201d Payne said. \u201cIt\u2019s having the opportunity to live in a community that is available to the needs of the poor around it, and listens to what they need and be there to accompany them in those circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne returned to Denver this year when she led an alternative spring break at Christ in the City.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students loved it. It was like the first time I was there, they were all very uncomfortable, but it\u2019s that discomfort that helps us grow,\u201d she said. \u201cTo get to see the joy that they found there was really beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne is thankful to Detroit Mercy Ministry for helping guide her and always being open to new ideas. Payne and Detroit Mercy student Annie Taylor were inspired to form Christian Life Communities after attending a conference and Payne said they couldn\u2019t have done it without the help of the Ministry office.<\/p>\n

\u201cChristian Life Communities is really just a space to come and talk in the context of our faith,\u201d Payne said. \u201cLike what\u2019s happening in school, your life, your family, your highs and lows and your God moments. Just a place to share with students how God is working in their life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ministry office helped us form Christian Life Communities and has supported me when I wanted my faith to grow. They really put in extra effort to build a community of students growing in their faith. It\u2019s been really beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne is very passionate about service and faith, but she\u2019s also excelled in the classroom at Detroit Mercy and will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a minor in Philosophy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe chemistry department has supported me through everything,\u201d Payne said. \u201cThey want to see your success as a person, not necessarily just your success in chemistry. When I went to Denver they were thrilled for me and wanted to hear all about it. When I said I wanted to go to graduate school they were ready to help me with anything I needed and when I said, \u2018Nevermind, I want to be a sister,\u2019 they were thrilled too. They\u2019ve accompanied me these four years as I figured out who I am and what I want to do. They were just present, attentive and available to students. Just them modeling that has meant a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne has enjoyed being a member of the Chemistry Club and is thankful for her relationship with Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Matthew Mio.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Mio and the Chemistry Club are amazing examples of community,\u201d Payne said. \u201cThe lack of competitiveness in the Chemistry Department is great. We weren\u2019t ever competing against one another for grades. It\u2019s always been a community of support from my peers and our professors, which I\u2019m so grateful for. Chemistry Club is amazing, just having the opportunity to get to know each other outside of class and really have fun with our major. Professor Mio is just an awesome professor. He\u2019s available to talk to students about classes but also about life crises. Just a lot of great support from everyone in the chemistry department.\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne is honored to represent the Class of 2019 as the valedictorian and said she was motivated to apply by her parents and her desire to thank those who have helped her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very grateful for this University, I learned a lot from it so having the opportunity to share some of that in a commencement address was important,\u201d Payne said. \u201cTo highlight what this University means to me and how it\u2019s helped me grow in the last four years was really the reason I applied.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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