The summa cum laude graduate became a second lieutenant with the Army ROTC commissioning ceremony in May that preceded commencement. He was an honors scholar who wrote a timely thesis in addition to the several other research papers that admittedly left him “typed out” by semester’s end. But what really got to him was the commencement moment recognizing first-generation college students.

“This matters to me,” he said. “You don’t need to be a legacy to pull off some great things.”

But tenacity helps, as does the willingness to seek answers from good advisers. Not to mention time management.

While studying to earn his UofL undergraduate degree in four years in political science with a minor in Russian, Payne also served in the Army National Guard, having joined in 2019.

“We made it work. It was a struggle,” Payne said. “Doing ROTC and the National Guard and academics is difficult.”

But the balancing act paid off and he plans to further his educational journey with a graduate or law degree, having an interest in immigration law or even a “dream” of working for the State Department.

Before that, however, he will spend four months working in recruitment at Fort Knox and later will report to Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona to train as a military intelligence officer.

Payne credits some critical internships in political science as good preparation for that intelligence officer role. While working with government officials on Louisville Metro Council and in the Kentucky General Assembly through the Legislative Research Commission, he learned to gather and distill critical information, research issues and present facts and even recommendations to decision-makers to use.

The Louisville native was always intrigued by watching the news and learning about current events, which ultimately led him to the political science department and its faculty members who opened his eyes to career opportunities.

His choice of Russian studies also became “very timely,” he admits.

“I always wanted to choose a language that was critical and impactful,” Payne said. Russian, he decided, was “more relevant in the world and underused in the west.”

The combination of major and minor led him to the also timely honors thesis topic about the Russian diaspora, although the swiftly shifting current conflict in Ukraine made it more stressful to write.

He cannot believe the changes in world affairs that have occurred in his time at UofL, especially this last year, and within his National Guard service. “It’s been a heck of a ride.”

A week before his classes started last year, he was in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, when the capital city of Kabul fell and he suddenly was helping a unit prepare to deploy to Afghanistan.

As a Guardsman stateside, he has worked with an engineering battalion and spent the past year supporting the 101^st Airborne Division. “I had a blast doing that,” he said. Other assignments have included helping to run COVID-testing centers and polling places.

And Payne’s face is familiar around the American Legion Jeffersontown GI Joe Post 244, where he has volunteered and became a district officer, believing he may be the youngest member in Kentucky. Bolstering such civic organizations is important to society, in his estimation, and he says they need new blood to support them.

Whether it be drawing attention to military service through the veterans work or continuing his Guard tenure, Payne said he hopes to continue building the force.

“I take the most pride in recruiting,” Payne said.

Earlier this year, for example, the Cardinal Battalion Ranger Team finished in the top 10 at the in West Point, New York.

And, over the summer, UofL sent 21 juniors to Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox. There, 48% of the class earned an overall rating of “outstanding,” which means that 48% of our cadets are ranked in the top 15% of cadets in the nation, according to Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Dargavell, Department Chair and Professor of Military Science.

The Fort Knox event is the largest exercise the Army conducts every year, with about 6,000 cadets competing from May through August.

Dargavell said our cadets always do well, but this year was exceptional.

In addition to the “outstanding” ratings, seven cadets earned the title of “RECONDO,” awarded for overall physical and mental testing performance. The RECONDO badge is awarded to cadets who exceed the standards in physical testing, confidence courses, land navigation, marksmanship, First Aid, and the 6-mile foot march. They must also compete in a litany of tasks to standard – the 12-mile foot march, 8-mile foot march, hand grenade assault course and more.

Further, five out of 21 cadets were ranked No. 1 overall in their platoon, with one cadet ranked No. 1 in his regiment, which includes 640 cadets.

Seven cadets were ranked No. 1 in peer evaluations.

“I’m prouder of this accomplishment than the others. These are peer evaluations, not just what you are physically capable of doing or the intellect you have. It’s a whole-person assessment and it shows you have the character we’re looking for. It speaks to who you are,” Dargavell said.

Dargavell is a part of and said such peer evaluations align with those principles – community of care, accountability, respect, diversity/inclusion, integrity/transparency, noble purpose, agility and leadership.

Aspiring toward those Cardinal Principles is just part of what makes UofL’s Army ROTC program so successful.

“It is a totality of things associated with the University of Louisville. We have a lot of support from the administration, we have really good cadets and we have really good instructors focused on realistic training,” Dargavell said. “We also have support from the Kentucky National Guard and we’re right next to Fort Knox, so our cadets get the chance to experience a real-life environment before they’re tested on it.”

He expects this success to continue. For the past two years, one-third of UofL’s Army ROTC class has been labeled a distinguished military graduate and Dargavell projects that number to grow.

“I’ve charged our seniors with training our underclassmen on being better than them and they take that very seriously,” he said. “They are training how to be officers of character and better leaders.”

Some of UofL’s biggest highlights from Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox include:

• Jeffrey Newton: No. 1 overall cadet in 5^th Regiment (approximately 650 cadets in a regiment); No. 1 overall cadet in his platoon, earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%); No. 1 on peer evaluations, earned the RECONDO Badge and scored a 600 on the Army Combat Fitness Test.
• Kendal Covington: No. 1 overall cadet in his platoon; earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%); No. 1 on peer evaluations. Additionally, he graduated for The United States Army Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
• Andrew McHale: While at Cadet Summer Training he earned No. 1 overall cadet in his platoon, earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%).
• Olivia Jerolaman: No. 1 overall cadet in her platoon; earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%); No. 1 on peer evaluations; earned the RECONDO Badge.
• Emily Bleska: No. 1 overall cadet in his platoon; earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%). She was also selected to be the Cadet Battalion Commander (top ranked cadet) for this semester within UofL Army ROTC.  Additionally, she graduated from the United States Army Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia.
• Paul Kotarski: Earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%); No. 1 on peer evaluations; earned the RECONDO Badge. Additionally, he attended Cadet Troop Leader Training in Grafenwöhr, Germany.
• Steve Beza: Earned the performance rating of Outstanding (top 15%); No. 1 on peer evaluations; and earned the RECONDO Badge.

“Each of you has made a choice to be a part of something bigger than yourselves,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Kevin Vereen, commander of U.S. Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, who was the featured speaker.Ěý

Each Army cadet received a commission certificate, then family members or friends pinned bars to the service members’ uniforms. The new second lieutenants also received their first salutes.

UofL’s Army ROTC has commissioned almost 600 officers since the program began in 1982.

The following were commissioned: Brenden Becker, criminal justice; Seth Conte, political science; Annie Garcia, political science; Ethan Center, sports administration; Demetrio Cervantes, occupational leadership and learning; Drew Clements, occupational leadership and learning; Ivanna Duran, health and human performance; William Hahn, occupational leadership and learning; Thomas Kotz Goodenough, occupational leadership and learning; Sawyer Mattingly, marketing; Nicholas Nuccio, finance; Daniel Rees, finance; Jerry Watkins, finance; Jacob Newberry, mechanical engineering; Kevin Orr, interdisciplinary graduate school, political science; and two Bellarmine University students.

Check out the Cardinal Battalion’s for more.

In a separate ceremony, the four Air Force Cadets commissioned were Robert Bieshelt, Gabrielle Cohn, Justin Cooper and Alexander Mindrup.

In addition, the ROTC commissioning ceremony — traditionally held on campus the day before commencement — has been transitioned to a virtual event for the second time this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“My plan is to have my immediate family set up our home for the virtual ceremony,” said Mayah Plucinski, a cadet who is graduating with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience. “Most likely, (we will) set up an American flag for the background of commissioning over our fireplace.”

The virtual commissioning ceremony begins 10 a.m. Dec. 11 and will be .Ěý

Plucinski said she is grateful that she will be able to have her family by her side for the ceremony, during which the cadets are promoted to the rank of second lieutenant and receive their branch assignments.Ěý

“I am happy that we are able to be with our family while we commission. I was worried if it was in-person, it would only be our instructors and ourselves for the ceremony,” she added.

The other Fall 2020 cadets participating are Marcus Grady (criminal justice), Matthew Seeforth (mechanical engineering) and Mackenzie Wuebbels (nursing).

Additionally, the following cadets who graduated and were commissioned in the spring are being recognized as part of the university’s general commencement ceremony:

• John Gabriel Collins
• Zackary Thomas Golding
• Zachary Michael Hynes
• Paul Thomas Wallenhorst
• Jared Zorade Harper
• Jordan Elaine Temme
• Seth Coomes
• Lisbeth Melchor
• Richard William Goodman
• Akissi A. R. Kouassi

During a commissioning, each cadet receives a commission certificate, then family members or friends pin bars to the service members’ uniforms. There is also a tradition of a first salute, in which the new second lieutenant presents a silver dollar to the first enlisted person who renders a salute.

UofL’s Army ROTC has commissioned 570 officers since the program began in 1982, said Lt. Col. Michael Dargavell, military science department chair and commander of the Cardinal Battalion. The new officers commissioned Dec. 11 will bring the total to 574.

The Spring 2020 Army ROTC ceremony was also conducted virtually in May. Check out the Cardinal Battalion’s for photos (scroll down to May).

UofL is also home to the U.S. Air Force’s 295th Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing. No Air Force cadets are scheduled for commissioning in December.

Each new officer received a commission certificate, then family members or friends pinned bars to the service members’ uniforms. The tradition of the first salute followed, in which the new second lieutenant presented a silver dollar to the first enlisted person who rendered a salute.

Newly commissioned officers were also assigned to their branches during the Cardinal Battalion Army ROTC ceremony, which took place in Middleton Auditorium.

“It takes a village to teach, coach and mentor these young men and women to where they are today,” said Lieutenant Colonel Jessica Murnock, professor of military science.

Murnock added that the overall GPA of the cadets recognized today is 3.4.Ěý

The guest speaker during the commissioning ceremony was UofL President Neeli Bendapudi.

“You are what I want every student at the University of Louisville to be like because you have shown that you have the physical, the emotional, the mental, the spiritual strength to be here today,” Bendapudi said.

The following Army cadets were promoted: Brayden Bereznay, Alec Hayes, Stephen Schaltenbrand, Morgan Cornell, Zachary Michael, Derick Davidson, Elaine Reitan, Patrick Stewart, Duy Tran, Alexander Jones, Samuel Best, Keith Johnson, Kenneth King, Scott Peters, Joshua Wray, Taeisha Wynder and Omar Cham.

UofL’s Army ROTC has commissioned more than 400 officers during its 37-year history.

In a separate ceremony, four UofL students who were members of the U.S. Air Force’s 295th Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing were also commissioned.Ěý

Promoted were: Kevin Burdette, Nicolas Ferrara, Raymond Palazzo and Dax Parker.