Photo by: Henoc Kivuye
Individuals passing by Student Life will probably recognize two of the newest faces inside; Oklahoma Christian University welcomed senior Kendall Mayes and alumnus Jared Payne as the male freshmen counselors. Mayes and Payne join female freshman counselor Kirby Killen.
Mayes hails from Nashville, Tenn., and graduates in April with a degree in marketing. He is a self-proclaimed Oklahoma City Thunder and hockey fan, describing himself as detail-oriented. Killen described her new co-worker as hard working.
“If you give him a project he is going to get it done,” Killen said. “He is super kindhearted and so he is not going to be quick to judge. He is going to sit there along with you through your struggles and be with the freshmen.”
Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Payne graduated this past December with a degree in general business and business administration. He loves basketball, working as a program assistant on the Lady Eagles basketball team. Payne supports the Oklahoma City Thunder and St. Louis Cardinals. Above all this, according to Killen, “humble” best describes Payne.
“He doesn’t try to put himself above you … [and] because of that humbleness he is not going to judge you for what you’ve done,” Killen said. “He’s going to look at you and help you change and think towards your future, not base your life off of your past.”
Both men attributed their desire to be freshmen counselors to their previous involvement with Earn Your Wings. According to Mayes and Payne, it inspired them to take on a more dominant leadership role.
“I really enjoy Earn Your Wings,” Payne said. “I’ve done it every year that I can, [and] I’ve really enjoyed that, but I think … what really prepared me [and] made me want to do a job like this is just seeing what kind of difference we made in just the first week of the freshmen’s life.”
Mayes agreed, pointing out Earn Your Wings taught him the value of leadership.
“Earn Your Wings is … a lot to do with it,” Mayes said. “It’s got a lot of pressure, but it’s a fun challenge, and I mean, what a good opportunity to just mentor and help students succeed in such a crucial time in their life.”
The position that Mayes and Payne will be stepping into allows them to step into a stronger leadership role.
“You are able to get to know a lot of the freshmen, and so I am excited to be able to help them in areas that I would never be able to help them out, as in like academically and stuff like that,” Mayes said. “You know, as a student, you’re friends with freshmen but you aren’t like helping them in areas like academics.”
Both Mayes and Payne believe they will be able to connect with the freshmen well due to their prior experience.
“I feel like we both are pretty plugged into people; I mean we both like to be that difference-maker in their life,” Payne said.
Killen expressed excitement toward Mayes and Payne joining the staff and said they both fit the job description well.
“They will bring a lot of energy and a lot of different talents,” Killen said. “They both are very godly men, very involved in the church, and … they are just going to have a lot of good perspective. They still very much know what it’s like to be a student.”
Freshmen seemed to be glad to hear of the additions, according to freshman Austin Kruzich.
“I’m excited to see what [Mayes and Payne] bring to the table … [and] what they are going to do at OC,” Kruzich said. “… It would be cool if [freshmen] could talk one-on-one with them, and they could mentor you a little bit.”
Freshman Justin Myers hopes Mayes and Payne are able to rise to the challenge their new role provides.
“It is a little harder to be deep … when you have such a large crowd to reach to, but if they can find a way to do that, that would be great,” Myers said.
At this point, Student Life is not planning to hire another female counselor. Amy Roberts, the director of freshman experience, has been assisting Killen. Both Mayes and Payne will be looking forward to meeting and talking with all of the freshmen.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s good or bad, or anything like that,” Mayes said. “I just want to be around for the people who are excited and for the people who might need a little help in whatever they’re going through.”
Mayes and Payne stated they hope the freshman class keeps them in mind for any time they need something, have a question or just want to talk.
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