Hood Is Where The Heart Is | Payton Mills ’19

Payton Mills ’19 will be the first to tell you that Hood was not her first choice when she was researching colleges. Despite the fact that her older brother and sister are both alums, Payton wanted to do something different. That is until an invitation from the Hood honors program directors to tour the campus changed everything. “I fell in love. I wasn't just the little sibling coming to visit my big brother and sister. I got to see what my Hood experience would be like,” recalls Payton. “I met faculty and other students who learned my name and my interests. I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

Born and raised in Frederick, Maryland, Payton was homeschooled before earning her associate degree at Frederick Community College. When she enrolled at Hood as a transfer student, she wasted no time immersing herself in academics and extracurricular activities. She became an honors student and a Blazer Ambassador, leading tours around campus. Her ambitions culminated with a whirlwind senior year. She completed a departmental honors paper, worked as a TA for an honors class, took senior seminar and interned for the admissions office—all in a single semester.

“I learned a lot about time management. I learned a lot about myself. I think it set me up to succeed later in life,” Payton says. “Everyone was telling me I had to pick the internship or the honors paper. I wanted to do both, so I figured it out.” In 2019, Payton received her English B.A. with a concentration in literature, graduating summa cum laude. “And I beat my siblings,” she adds with a smile.

Shortly after graduation, she leveraged her internship into a new job as the front desk and admission visit coordinator with the Office of Admission at Hood. She worked there for more than two years before accepting a role as the assistant director of alumni and constituent engagement with the Office of Institutional Advancement.

One of her first major projects will be spearheading Reunion Weekend 2022 alongside fellow Hood alum and director of alumni and constituent engagement Kellye Greenwald ’86. “I was lucky that my job in admission was heavily rooted in event planning, logistics and coordination, which is exactly what I’m now doing with institutional advancement,” Payton explains. “The transition wasn't as difficult as it could have been because I already had relationships with other departments on campus. I had the puzzle pieces, I just needed to connect them together.”

After being enmeshed in the Hood community for so many years, Payton feels even closer to her alma mater turned employer. “I’ve been able to reconnect in a deeper way with the campus community as a whole by just sharing what I love about Hood with current students and alumni. Hopefully, the next generation of alums will have that same passion for stewardship towards the College,” reflects Payton.

As an alum/employee with a multilayered perspective and longstanding connections to Hood, Payton has some words of wisdom to share with current students. “Use your Hood community as a resource. I still seek feedback from my colleagues to make sure that I’m going down the right path,” she says. “Reach out to those around you. We want you here. We want you to have the best experience possible.”