Contributed Post By Suzi McCreery

Director of Public & Media Relations

Keiser University Flagship Campus

Lakeland, Florida – July 2023 Keiser University’s Lakeland Campus Commencement Ceremony will hold special meaning for star student Ashley (Hickam) Payne and her family. A mother of seven, Payne will be honored as valedictorian on Friday, July 7^th at 6:00 PM at the Youkey Theater located at 701 W. Lime Street, Lakeland, FL. 33815.

When asked what she’d recommend to those striving to reach their goals Payne shared an auspicious message of encouragement she’d received back on her first day of class in 2019. “When I started this program, my oldest daughter Lorelai was nine years old. She sent me to school with a Post-It note in her tiny handwriting that had this phrase ‘Aim for the moon, if you miss, you may hit a star.’ If she can realize the vast opportunities this world has to offer, so can you,” said Payne, who still cherishes the words of encouragement.

A Lakeland, Florida native, and first-generation college graduate who earned a perfect 4.0-grade point average while pursuing her Keiser University Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree, Payne was also recognized as valedictorian at her Families of Faith Christian Academy High School graduation ceremony back in 2006. That same year while beginning her freshman year of college, she began to reevaluate her educational and career path after becoming afflicted with a pulmonary embolism. “I was only eighteen years old, and had zero cause for blood clots, so they kept me in the intensive care unit for two weeks. This rattled my plan significantly,” said Payne who switched gears to focus on her growing family while also joining her husband to manage their party rental business, and serving women through pregnancy, birth, and beyond. “My array of birth experiences, after having seven babies, has put me in a unique position to be able to empathize with most women and has cultivated a passion for birth work as deep-rooted as the oldest Shepherd’s tree,” smiled Payne who was a doula and birth assistant before returning to college to pursue her Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) degree in Midwifery.

Encouraged by friends to learn more about Keiser, Payne began classes at the university’s Lakeland campus in 2019 with support from family members including her mom. “She was my biggest advocate and would tell complete strangers about my accomplishments and goals,” Payne said of JoJo Ziegele-Hickam who passed away during her freshman year in the program. “My mom was my cheerleader when I gave birth at home and will continue to be my cheerleader as I continue into the world of midwifery. Unfortunately, she suffered tremendously in the end, and it was my turn to be her biggest advocate,” reflected Payne who shared that helping to manage her mother’s medical care required that she research and absorb information quickly to confirm the best steps with her physicians – lessons that further prepared her to work in a local hospital’s Emergency Department and as part of the local birth community.

Now looking forward to dedicating her academic honor to the memory of her mother, Payne credits her faith and family. 

“God has brought the most incredible motivators into my life. My husband Joseph has always prioritized my personal growth and truly emboldened me along the way, and our seven children have been the first to praise me – even at points where I felt pure exhaustion. My support system has been fundamental in the process of this goal, and I look forward to the fruits of our labor as God’s plan unfolds,” said Payne. “Above all else, I want to acknowledge the blessings of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, and the continual work he is doing in my life.”

Following graduation, Payne looks forward to earning her Master of Science degree in Nurse-Midwifery at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Keiser University’s College of Nursing provides a number of pathways and degree levels for students who want to prepare to become successful in the field. Among them, its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program enables students to provide evidence-based collaborative care to diverse patient populations in varied settings. 

Keiser University is a private, independent, non-profit university serving nearly 20,000 students at 21 Florida campuses, online, and two international sites. Co-founded in 1977 by Chancellor Arthur Keiser, Ph.D., and Evelyn Keiser, Keiser University currently offers more than 100 degrees from associate to the doctoral level. Keiser University is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, a member of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, and was ranked No. 1 in the U.S. in providing Social Mobility by U.S. News and World Report in 2023. 

LAKELAND, FL (July 1, 2023) On Friday, June 30, 2023, at approximately 11:00 a.m., officers responded to reports of a shooting that had just occurred in the 2400 block of Chestnut Woods Drive in Lakeland. Once on the scene, officers located a 35-year-old male victim with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.  

The Lakeland Police Department Patrol Unit, Polk County Fire Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived on the scene to begin life-saving measures. The victim was transported to Lakeland Regional Health as a trauma alert. 

It was learned that the victim and a female had driven to the location to visit a relative. The female passenger stayed in the vehicle while the victim joined his relative outside the apartments and began speaking with the suspect, identified as Miguel Angel Ruiz Borges, in the apartment’s driveway area. At some point, the men began to argue and progressed into Borges shooting the victim. Despite being shot, the victim was able to overpower Borges and take the gun from him. 

Borges then fled on foot and entered a nearby apartment. The woman who lived in the apartment grabbed her three-year-old child and retreated to a bedroom, where she barricaded herself and the child inside. As officers continued arriving at the scene, they began assisting the woman and child climb through the bedroom window to safety outside. 

Once the mother and child were safe, officers with the Crisis Negotiation Team attempted to contact the Borges, who remained barricaded in the apartment. LPD’s SWAT team also responded to the area to assist and after more than two hours of communicating with Borges, he surrendered and was taken into custody. 

Borges was transported to the Polk County Jail, charged with Aggravated Battery of a Person with a Firearm, Possession of a Firearm by a Delinquent, and Unarmed Burglary of an Occupied Dwelling. 

At last update, the victim was stable and is expected to recover. 

This remains an open and active investigation.

LAKELAND, FL (June 30, 2023) On Thursday, June 29, 2023, at approximately 8:55 p.m., officers responded to a traffic crash involving an SUV and motorcycle near the intersection of Drane Field Road and South Pipkin Road. According to information gathered at the scene, prior to the crash, the Yamaha motorcycle was traveling east on Drane Field Road and passing another motorist. At the same time, a Mitsubishi SUV was exiting South Pipkin Road, making a left turn onto Drane Field Road. The motorcycle collided with the SUV.   

The Lakeland Police Department Patrol Unit, Polk County Fire Rescue, and the Lakeland Fire Department all arrived on the scene to begin life-saving measures. The driver of the motorcycle, a 26-year-old man from Lakeland, was pronounced deceased by medical personnel at the scene. 

The driver of the SUV was identified as Shelby Anderson, age 20, from Lakeland. 

Members of the Traffic Homicide team responded to the scene and took over the investigation. The crash remains an open investigation. Anyone with additional information should contact investigating Sergeant Dale Deas at [email protected].