Once a super fan, Payton Poulin is now a Florida State graduate
QUINCY, Fla. -- There was an essay contest, and the grand prize was a chance to meet Bobby Bowden. It seemed like a good idea to young Payton Poulin, an Orlando area youth who was starting to come into his own as a Florida State football fan.
Payton's entry won, and soon the boy, his father and grandfather were off to Orlando International Airport for a face-to-face meeting with one of their idols. Like so many other Seminoles, they loved how Bowden transformed FSU from a scrappy upstart to a college football power.
What they loved more was Bowden's faith and devotion to his religious beliefs. Bowden, even to this day, always wears a cross on the lapel of his suit jacket.
"Bobby Bowden was super tired. He was doing all these booster things, and you could tell he was tired," Patrick Poulin Sr. recalled. "He saw Payton, he got off his phone and he put a cross on ..."
A memory, more than a decade old, causes an emotional avalanche for the patriarch of the Poulin family. He leaves the room with tears flowing down his cheeks.
This would be one of many poignant moments for the Poulin family over the next 48 hours.
Payton, who has become one of the more recognizable figures during FSU's games and practices the last few seasons, will graduate from Florida State University on Saturday. With the assistance of his father, Patrick, and family friend/mentor/former FSU defensive lineman Dmitri Rigas, Payton will leave his wheelchair to walk across the stage at the Tucker Center.
He graduates in four years and has done it while living with schizencephaly, a rare neurological disease he has had since birth. The condition limits his physical capabilities while also affecting his speech.
Payton's relationship with the football team is well known. He had a class with former Seminoles receiver Kenny Shaw in 2013, and Shaw spoke with the coaching staff to see if Payton could be with the team during practices. Soon, Payton would become a constant presence with the Seminoles. At practices and games, he would support the players, coaches and support staff, and they would support him.
"I was living my dream," Payton said of coming to FSU. "Ever since I was a little boy, I've dreamed about being at Florida State, being a part of the football team, being a teammate of Bobby Bowden."
One day before graduation, Payton is visiting with family members while riding in his motorized wheelchair, which has become a staple on campus. He's wearing a purple dress shirt with dark gray slacks. The chair's black headrest features the Seminoles' logo.
Payton and eight of his family members rented a cabin for the weekend about 25 minutes outside of Tallahassee. Dinner on this particular Friday night is pizza from Mellow Mushroom. He enjoys the restaurant's supreme pizza so much he has two slices.
He eats while his family and friends tell stories about him.
"For me, it's been very different because I've been so used to having a certain routine," Retina Poulin says about the past four years of her son's life. "But I know he has gone on and has done amazing things and met new people and has opened doors.
"Going to sleep, and every time I get a call from him, 'I'm always like, 'Are you OK?'"
Patrick and Retina raised Payton in St. Cloud, an Orlando suburb. Doting parents, they were with him every day until it came time for him to attend college.
There was some worry. It was Payton's first time away from home. But he did have help.
Rigas, who played for FSU from 1977 through 1979, was recommended by the university's Student Disability Resource Center to mentor Payton. Many years earlier, Rigas had been working as a delivery truck driver when he drove through a malfunctioning railroad crossing and was struck by a train.
He lost his knee in the accident and has lived with a prosthetic replacement ever since.
"For me, it was another growing experience and a learning experience," said Rigas, who spoke with a giant smile any time he talked about Payton. "Payton was real quiet ... but when I met Payton, it's like a switch went on. His smile was so phenomenal."
Rigas said Payton was like a "deer in headlights" during his freshman year. He said Payton had good study habits but was timid. Rigas recalled how Payton told him he was struggling in a class and wasn't sure what to do.
They went to speak with Payton's professor, and Rigas explained that Payton was not using certain benefits afforded to him because of his circumstances. Since then, Payton has received help by having people take notes for him in case a professor is speaking too fast.
Rigas said Payton's demeanor also changed. He began sitting in the front row of all his classes, introducing himself to professors and even making a point to shake their hands before class started.
"He would go back to his seat and then ask a question during class," Rigas said. "Always have a question to ask the professor. That way they see you and you're interacting. That right there is going to draw attention from the professor.
"They're going to know who you are and know that you are trying."
Rigas, who was also taking classes at FSU during that time, became Payton's study partner. They once had a 24-hour, non-stop study marathon.
But that's not to say they didn't have fun. They would have wheelchair races on campus. Rigas insists he won every one -- until Payton got a motorized wheelchair. Since then, Payton has not lost a single race.
Although Payton has friends like Rigas, Patrick Poulin says his son has made it through the last four years on his own.
"A lot of people, sadly, don't talk to Payton because they're not sure of what his limitations are and his disabilities are," Patrick said. "One of the things that's really sad is a lot of people don't approach him like they approach somebody else."
To his family and friends, Payton is more than a young man who has a love for Florida State football.
He's devout with his faith and has no problem speaking about why it means so much to him.
They all remark how his writings -- whether it be for a class or something motivational he posts on Facebook -- have intelligent and understandable tones. He has an obvious love for his family given the way his face lights up while he plays with niece, Layla, who is a toddler.
"He's very positive and inspirational," Retina says of Payton. "He knows how not to look at the bad in life and in the world."
Payton will graduate with a bachelor's degree from FSU's College of Business. His goal is to work full-time back in the Orlando area, where he hopes to become a minister who can help the area's homeless and less fortunate.
His family created a GoFundMe page to raise money in an attempt purchase Payton a stand-up wheelchair and other necessities to assist with his physical therapy. They're also hoping to secure the necessary funds to get Payton stem cell therapy and a special wheelchair van so he can get from place to place.
For now, the family's main concern is how everyone will handle their emotions when Payton rises out of his wheelchair and walks across the stage.
The journey started decades ago when Patrick Sr., fell in love with Bowden's early teams and how they used trick plays to win games. He would often wear FSU hats, and his children soon followed suit.
It would turn into three generations of Poulins devoting their Saturdays to watching the Seminoles.
Yet on this particular Saturday, they'll be watching one of their own receive a degree from FSU.
"I had a vision in my mind that I was going to do it," Payton says, when looking back on the last four years. "I didn't know how I was going to do it, but I just knew it would happen."
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