Caring, sweet, and charismatic all sum up one amazing senior here at Concord High School: Savanna Payne. We are honored to shine our senior spotlight on her this week.
Payne is very involved in school clubs. She explains which clubs she is involved in. “I am in the leadership class, publications, student council, and NHS. I also played basketball for three years, track for one, and volleyball for three.”
Outside of school activities, Payne shares what her hobbies are: “I like to watch movies, shop, hang out with friends, and be outside.”
Payne shares that her friends are very important to her. They have helped her become the person she is today. One of her closest friends, Lilieana Vandenburgh explains that she will miss Savanna so much next year. “Sav is very outgoing, quite frankly, she’s just a peach. She’s one of my best friends and is super funny. She makes any hangout instantly better when she’s there. She can have fun anywhere, with anyone. I love her personality, And I think it’s one of her best qualities.”
A longtime friend to Savanna, Sidney Marshall, explains what she loves about Payne: “I’ve known Savanna my whole life and is one of my best friends. She’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met and has the best energy.”
Another friend of hers, Savanna Alejandro, shares that, “I started being friends with her sophomore year. She is very caring, sweet, and a great friend. She is also an amazing listener.”
Payne also shares that she has a very ambitious bucket list and explains what is on it: “I want to meet someone really famous, be in a movie, go snorkeling, go skydiving, and go on vacation to a really tropical place.”
As mentioned previously, Payne enjoys watching movies. She explains which movies are her favorite. “My favorite movies are the Scream Movies and The Notebook. I also really enjoy psychological movies that make you think.”
After high school, Payne plans “to attend Central Michigan to study early childhood education and development. After college, I hope to become a teacher for young kids.”
In high school, Payne enjoys classes with Mrs. O. She shares her favorite classes over the years. “Film Studies, Honors English 10, and A.P. Lit were my favorites.” She shares that she loved Mrs. O because “she has also been an amazing mentor to me throughout high school. At the beginning of high school, I was scared and didn’t know what to do. But, I had Mrs. O for leadership, and she was super nice and welcoming to me. So, she became a role model to me for the rest of high school.”
Mrs. O has had Savanna throughout all of high school, and will miss her deeply. She shares, “I am so incredibly proud of Savanna and the amazing young woman she has become. I convinced Savanna to take Honors English with me her Sophomore year and I am SO glad she decided to. Her ability to analyze literature and find the deeper meaning is outstanding – I am constantly impressed by her insights and her growth since her sophomore year. She has also grown as a leader, and I have been lucky enough to witness that growth in leadership class and student council over the past three years. I am going to miss Savanna so much, but I know she is going to have the time of her life at CMU next year! Fire Up Chips!”
Although Payne is excited for college, she shares what she will miss about high school, “The thing I will miss the most about high school is the small community. I love that we are able to form close relationships with the staff and students.”
During her high school years, she has made many memories along the way. She reminisces that, “my favorite high school memory is hanging out with friends both inside and outside of school. I also really enjoy all the fun activities we do, like when we went roller skating and summer kickoff. My favorite activities we do are pep assemblies.”
Payne has reached many personal goals throughout high school and is especially “proud of myself for maintaining a 4.0 GPA and still making time to go out and have fun. I am also proud of myself for growing to be more mature and understanding.”
Although many people have helped Payne become who she is today, she explains that her mom is very important to her success. “My mom has made me into the person I am today because she is always there for me and always supports me.”
Payne’s mom, Mrs. Trisha Payne expresses her love for Savanna.: “Savanna has made us very proud. She is happiest when she is involved in something with her friends. Since Savy was in elementary school, she has wanted to try every camp or activity the school was putting on. We love her very much and know she will do great things.”
Savanna is also very close with her sister, Marissa Payne. Marissa shares more about Savanna. “Savanna is the best sister and friend. One of my favorite things about her is how easily she can make people laugh. She is always joking and making people smile. Growing up with her had been full of lots of laughs together, and I love that about her.”
Savanna wants to leave all students with this piece of advice. “Make sure that you are getting all of your work done and don’t procrastinate. Also, find a good group of people to hang out with.”
It is not every day that a writer gets to write about one of their best friends. I am honored to get to highlight Savanna for all of her achievements in her life. I am so proud of you, and I love you so much Sav! On behalf of Concord Schools, we would like to wish Savanna good luck in all of her future endeavors.
