Laney Payne, senior in psychology, grew up in St. Mary's, Ga., with three sisters, a baby brother and their mother.
Payne watched as her brother grew older without a father. Payne saw the impact the void left on her brother, but she also had the chance to see a hero emerge in her his life: his football coach.
"He raised him and taught him how to be a man," Payne said.
The concept inspired Payne and made her wonder if this miracle could happen all the time.
For her senior thesis, Payne wrote about teaching life skills on and off the field through coaching.
Payne pursued a case study in Beauregard and found three students who found solace with three coaches, similar to what her brother found in his coach.
Payne said she heard their stories and fell in love with them, and they inspired the concept behind Payne's Halftime Heroes Project.
Payne couldn't contain herself. She knew these stories had the potential to impact, so she sought resources for outreach.
That came in the form of Charles Harper, senior in radio, television and film.
Together, what began as a 5-minute infomercial of sorts became a full-fledged, 20-minute documentary, which will premiere at Pebble Hill Monday, March 3, at 6 p.m. with refreshments following.
Payne said all are invited to attend.
"It started as my little family story," Payne said. "Now I have a graphic designer and an RTVF student. It became a University-wide movement, which has been fun for me to watch."
One of the three stories revolves around Alexxis Millner and Rob Carter. Payne said the two act more like siblings than the average mentee and mentor.
"They bicker," Harper said.
Outside of that, Millner and Carter are important to each other. Millner goes to his family reunions. Carter can sign documents for her at school.
The second story is that of Stephen Drakeford and his mentee, Justin Greathouse. Drakeford and Greathouse mimic each other and speak the same way, Payne said.
The last story focuses on mentee Nykel Mitchell and mentor Wade Thorne.
Payne said these two are the muscle.
On first appearance, Payne said, these two can be perceived as meatheads and difficult to communicate with, but they care for each other, enough to dress similarly.
"It's hard for me to step away from this project," Payne said. "Not a day goes by that one of them doesn't text me."
This work is her life's work.
Harper said the documentary has the potential to be extremely empowering.
"Seeing how one person can be so passionate and turn something that's impacted people and motivate them, she's used her passion to give back to her community," Harper said.
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