For the average teenager, weekends consist of relaxing and hanging out with friends. But for sophomore Hayden Payne, regularly participating in community service fits snugly into her schedule.
As a freshman, Payne joined the Piedmont Community Service Crew (PCSC), commonly known as Venture Crew, and began devoting much of her time volunteering at a variety of events. Some of these events include preparing and serving hot meals at St. Marks Episcopal Church in Berkeley, helping out at the Alameda County Food Bank, and renovating homes for Oakland residents with Rebuilding Together Oakland.
Payne started becoming more involved in the Crew and discovered it was a part of the Boy Scouts of America organization.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Boy Scout,” Payne said. “But obviously, I was deterred by the whole not being a boy thing. So I was like, well that’s never going to happen. But then I discovered this [is a] way for girls to become a part of Boy Scouts, and I wanted to pursue that.”
Payne said she was attracted to Boy Scouts because it is an organization that wants to help youth become better people.
“The way that they teach young men to have strong morals, to be courageous, and to use their own wits, I always sort of admired that,” Payne said. “I admired that young boys, who would start young and pursue the goals of eventually becoming an Eagle Scout, [would] try to better themselves in the process.”
Currently, Payne is the secretary for the PCSC and a member of High Adventure Crew and Ship 16. High Adventure Crew teaches members the necessary skills to safely participate in outdoor trips, such as backpacking and kayaking.
Ship 16 is a coed sailing club where members learn basic sailing jargon and skills, as well as do volunteer work by teaching others about sailing and water safety, according to www.piedmontbsa.org.
In addition, Payne is the president of the Piedmont Venturing Officers’ Association. As president, Payne collaborates with other venturing crews within Piedmont and works with venturers throughout northern California.
“I think that when you serve your community and different communities around you, you become more attuned to what your purpose in life is, but also how you can help others around you,” Payne said. “I think as a high schooler, it’s useful because you learn about community and how different communities function.”
Payne is currently working towards gaining a Venturing Gold Award. She completed her Venturing Bronze Award earlier this year.
Similar to Boy Scout rankings, venturing awards require venturers to complete a series of tasks, provide service to the community, and demonstrate leadership skills. The highest award, the Venturing Silver Award, is the venturing equivalent to an Eagle Scout Rank.
“I want to challenge myself,” Payne said. “The Eagle is recognizing how you’ve grown as a person, and to get [the equivalent of] the Eagle privilege would be awesome.”
PCSC adviser Ken Li said he remembers meeting Payne her freshman year when she and a friend attended a crew meeting.
“A bunch of crew members had been in the crew for a while, then here [were] these two little freshmen,” Li said. “A lot of times people don’t join until later, like sophomore year. When we talked about things, Hayden would just immediately volunteer.”
Li said Payne’s degree of involvement adds to the success of the Crew. He said she has been a joy to work with because of she is very enthusiastic and responsible.
“What I think is important for the youth that are involved in the venturing crews is first, their enthusiasm and interest,” Li said. “Second, is their free time to do things. Third, is their ability to deliver, to actually do what [they] sign up to do. Hayden has done these things to a much higher-than-average extent.”
PCSC Vice President of Programming junior Elaine Qian, who works closely with Payne, said she is extremely motivated and dedicated to venturing.
“She gets things done,” Qian said. “It’s awesome. If you ask her to do something, she’ll do it.”
Qian said Payne is very sociable and gets along easily with others, which are qualities that make her a good leader.
“She has a nice aura,” Qian said. “You just feel comfortable around her. When she talks [to you], it’s on a personal level. It’s not like you’re below her or above her, you’re equal with her.”
Last year, Payne performed 93 hours of community service.
Her goal is 100 hours per year, but she has already accumulated over 200 hours this year.
Payne said she is so passionate about community service because it a way for people give back.
“I think everyone should do community service, regardless of whether they’re interested in sports, or books, or medicine,” Payne said. “Whatever your interests are, you can find a community service opportunity catering to that.”
Payne said after high school, she will continue to partake in venturing.
“Maybe I’ll work at Boy Scouts when I’m older, as a job, or maybe as a volunteer, to help kids recognize the potential in joining the organization.” Payne said.
