Ms. Payne is the head of the guidance counselor at Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High. Ms. Payne has worked here for 14 years since 2011. She plays a very important role at Dighton-Rehoboth. As a school counselor, Ms. Payne supports students academically and personally. She works to ensure students are thriving in every aspect of their school life, offering both proactive and reactive support. Furthermore, she explained that she loves helping students “see their full potential,” and encourages them not to have self-doubt. Ms. Payne notes that when she was in her twenties, she was working as an academic counselor at Johnson & Wales University where she said she enjoyed the job, but realized she “could make more of a difference with younger students.” She then later went back to get her master’s degree in education with a concentration in school counseling.
When she is not working as a school counselor, she is taking care of her three kids, including Brendan, who is 16 and a junior in high school; Teddy, who is 12 and in 7th grade; and also a son in college, Johnny, who is 18. She is also a cross-country coach at DR, so that takes up some of her time, but when she’s not at cross-country, she attends her kids’ soccer, baseball, and basketball games. She included that she loves traveling; her favorite places have been Europe, Ireland, and Florence, Italy. But she also loves to be in her hometown, Seekonk, Massachusetts. Ms. Payne explained that she loves walking her two golden retrievers, Murphy and Milly. When asked what she would change about the job, she said nothing! She loves the way kids surprise her every day and throw curveballs her way. She recounts one of her best memories at DR with, “I worked with a former student for four years through a variety of issues—personally, academically, and socially. She had so many ups and downs, but she trusted in our work together, and she made it to graduation. She came to my office the day before graduation with her cap and gown in hand. Furthermore, she put it on over her outfit, and I played a song for us to dance to in celebration of her graduating.” That is the epitome of who Ms. Payne is—an inspiring and helpful individual.
