Lestine Paye thought she knew the direction she was headed, she thought she knew the path her life was going to take.
But sometimes, the best-laid plans get changed.
Paye entered Penn State Berks four years ago with a clear goal in mind. She was going to major in biology and, after graduating, move on to medical school where she would train to be an anesthesiologist.
During her time on campus, however, something happened. Paye said she found herself at Penn State Berks, that she discovered a new path.
Traveling that path hasn’t been easy, and it has come with consequences. That hasn’t stopped her from trudging forward and finding her own vision of success.
The 21-year-old Paye graduated recently from Penn State Berks with a degree in business marketing and a minor in entrepreneurship innovation. She has moved to Philadelphia, where she will begin her pursuit of a host of goals, including becoming a college administrator and starting her own restaurant.
It’s a long way from where she started out.
Challenging start
Paye was born in the West African nation of Liberia.
Her mother was young when she had her, and her birth father wasn’t in the picture from the start. As a small child she was mainly raised by her grandmother.
When Paye got a little bit older — and her mom did, too — her mom met a man and got married. The new couple eventually decided to take their young family to the United States in search of better opportunities.
At first, Paye’s mother and stepfather weren’t particularly focused on her education. They needed to find jobs and a place for the family to live.
So Paye, who was 11 at the time, took it on herself to learn.
“I was home-schooling myself, basically,” she said. “The Khan Academy and YouTube, they were my best friends.”
Paye finally officially began her American school career in seventh grade, attending Drexel Hill Middle School in Delaware County. Spurred on by her parents, she took her schooling quite seriously.
“I wasn’t really involved in extracurriculars, but I was always on top of things academically,” she said. “My stepdad had started fathering me then and it was a whole different thing. I started seeing education through a different lens.”
The one thing Paye did take part in outside of the regular classroom was a group called College Possible. The nonprofit AmeriCorps program provided her with SAT and ACT prep classes, which she says really paid off.
“They were a really good foundation,” she said.
The program also provided her with some insight on what she wanted to do after high school. She had a handful of mentors there who had attended Penn State University, and their stories about their time on campus intrigued Paye.
“I drank the water,” she said. “I applied to Penn State.”
Paye didn’t put all of her eggs into the Penn State basket, applying to 15 schools. She ended up getting into them all.
New beginning
Paye selected Penn State Berks, figuring it would give her the Penn State experience without being too far from home. Her parents wanted her to commute, but Paye said she wasn’t interested in doing that.
“I didn’t want to live at home anymore, I wanted to get the campus experience,” she said. “There was more to me than just books. To me, that was really important.”
Before she even stepped on campus, Paye was contacted by Penn State Berks’ Aspiring Scholars Program, which provides support to first-year students as they transition into college life. Through the program, Paye secured a scholarship that enabled her to afford to go to Penn State Berks.
Paye began her college career as a mentee in the program. But for the most part, her initial experience wasn’t much different than her previous educational career.
“It was similar to high school, I was only focused on the books,” she said. “But I thought there’s got to be more to this. I wanted to be a part of something, have something more than just a 4.0 GPA. I wanted something else on my resume.”
Paye would soon start building that resume.
In Paye’s second semester her trigonometry teacher, realizing how well she was handling the course and the dedication she showed, asked her to become his teaching assistant. She also was approached about running for student government.
“I was asked if I would run as vice president of the student government association,” she said. “I was like, ‘What?’ I was over the moon.”
Suddenly, the student who had done nothing but study had a full slate outside of the classroom. Paye loved it.
Her involvement also led Paye to a realization about her future.
“I realized the passion wasn’t there for medicine,” she said. “I was interested in people, in leadership. Medicine was not what I wanted to do.”
Paye decided to change her major. The decision caused a rift in her family, she said, with her parents not supporting her choice.
“My parents are very traditional, cultural people,” she said. “They felt it was disrespectful after the sacrificing they had made. They told me that if I wanted to switch that I’d have to support myself and be on my own.”
Undaunted, Paye forged ahead.
She continued her work with student government, became a Lion Ambassador and took on a summer internship in the alumni relations department.
And in May 2022 she got an internship in the Division of Development and Alumni Relations at Penn State’s main campus at University Park. While she was there, she got an idea for a future business.
“That summer at University Park, I couldn’t find any African food that tasted like home,” she said. “I wanted to start something like that, a place where everybody is going to be drawn to. I’m really passionate about that.”
Paye continued her college career as an involved and dedicated student. She’s held several positions in student government — including two stints as president — has worked in different departments and excelled academically.
She has also been able to mend fences with her parents, at least a bit. They attended her commencement ceremony on May 6.
Following graduation, Paye moved to Philadelphia, where she is beginning her pursuit of her dreams. She hopes to get a job in a university setting — she’d love to one day be a professor or a dean — and is currently working on a business plan for a restaurant she plans to open down the road when she’s 30 or something.
“I never would have thought this would be my life,” Paye said excitedly. “I’m not in a rush. I’m taking everything one day at a time and focusing on being grateful.”
