Charity Payne seems to be like many other freshmen at Penn. She was almost the valedictorian of her high school, manages a difficult load of classes and has a work-study job.
It just so happens that she can throw a shot put 44 feet.
"I've decided she must be some form of higher intelligence because there's no human that can do as much as she does, as well as she does, while also making everyone feel great," said College freshman Nili Sommovilla, a friend in one of Payne's biology classes.
Besides doing the bare essentials every day, which for her include attending class and track practice, Payne wakes up early every morning to do homework and works in the Computer and Information Science Department for 10 hours throughout the week in between her classes.
"I'm a morning person," she said. "I'll wake up at 7 a.m. to get stuff done."
And as a pre-med majoring in biology, she has a lot to get done. However, she doesn't need someone to tell her to get moving. And she always finishes everything on time.
Payne's determination to succeed in the classroom existed long before she came to Penn. With a near perfect GPA at the end of high school, Payne missed being named valedictorian by 0.03 percent. She was less than thrilled.
"Charity was really upset when she was ousted from the valedictorian position by a kid who had no extracurricular activities," said Tom Thompson, her high school track coach at Selinsgrove High in Selinsgrove, Pa. "I've known her since she was very little, and she's always been very competitive."
While maintaining a straight-A average, Payne excelled in a different sport for each season. The fall was for field hockey while basketball took up the winter. That left the spring for track. In her less than ample free time, she also participated in several clubs and helped out at her father's greenhouse.
"It was fun working at my dad's greenhouse," Payne said. "I got stronger from loading plants onto trucks and became really good at counting money quickly."
Payne's track career started in the ninth grade when she tried to follow her father's footsteps by becoming a two-mile runner. In order to stay in shape and provide herself with a challenge, she would do the thrower workouts as well.
"At the meets, I usually did the javelin, shot put and 3200m race until I realized that by throwing the discus, I wouldn't have to run anymore," Payne joked, noting that the events happened at the same point in the meet.
By the 10th grade, Payne had become a full-time thrower, coming in 16th in the shot put at the state championship meet. By her senior year, she had won the shot put at the state meet and held the school record.
"It was such a relief to win at states because not only I, but my dad and my coach, had worked so hard to make me succeed," she said. "We all kept crying and hugging."
Thomspon was also thrilled, although not surprised.
"Charity always knew exactly where she was going and was very willing to learn," he said. "I had to work with other athletes during practices, so she did drills alone and stayed later after everyone else had left to work with me."
Payne's father has also always been supportive of her track career -- he still goes to most of her meets -- and just supportive. The two of them talk on the phone for at least a half an hour every night just to catch up on the events of the day.
"Charity is very sensible and has a lot of responsibilities," her roommate College junior Andria Bibiloni said. "She's learning a lot at college and is very perceptive about what it's doing for her."
Payne, along with Bibiloni and one of her other two roommates, will continue to live together in the same high rise apartment next year.
"She's a very easy going girl and a great roommate," Bibiloni said. "We'll send each other instant messages from our rooms and start stomping our feet. She's a funny girl."
Additionally, according to Sierra, her skills on the dance floor are a close second behind her skills with the shot put.
"We went to this dead party one time, and I said to her, 'You need to get this party started,'" Sierra added. "We danced alone for 10 minutes and before you knew it, everyone was circled around us dancing as well. She is an awesome dancer."
Penn assistant track coach Tony Tenisci adds that Payne while always positive and happy loves to win -- traits which Tenisci claims are important ingredients in making a successful athlete.
"I haven't had an athlete like Charity in five or six years for such versatile throwing," Tenisci said. "She has great work ethic. She's never missed a day and works extremely hard in her technical events as well as in the weight room."
Whether on the dance floor, in the classroom, on the track or in the dorm room, everyone seems to agree on one thing -- Charity Payne is good.
So who is Charity Payne?
"She is a genuinely what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of person," Thompson said.
"You can tell that Charity is wholeheartedly honest and that everything she does she is doing because she knows that it's the right thing to do," Sommovilla said. "She treats people with compassion and is just a big sweetheart."
"She keeps you on your toes and leaves a smile on your face," Sommovilla added. "And you don't mess with her because you know she could throw you from DRL to Freshgrocer."
