[5] Payne spent much of her time in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories supervising work at her father's gold mine and prospecting minerals.
[6] Her fondness of her father's work is what led her to accompany him to Yellowknife over many summers[7] to learn how to spot promising land to lay claims and mine for gold.
[8] In 1961, Payne went on an annual class field trip to the mountains, which let her put her skills of rock outcrops and mapmaking into actual practice.
[2] Even following her return from Havergal, she remained determined to prove herself worthy of being a geologist, and Payne earned her BSc in geology at the University of Alberta in 1962,[10][11][4][12] being the only female in her graduating class.
[13][13] As a university student, Payne was denied the ability to participate in geological fieldwork and struggled more so to operate underground.
She was only able to continue her pursuit of her future career as time eventually brought more flexibility within the rules set for women in geology.
[3][4][6] Social norms towards female scientists were changing in the late 1960s, and Payne found work in short-term projects, and for the university.
Operation Minerva supports young women wanting to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
[5] Later, in 1987, Payne met her second husband, Robert Allin Folinsbee, a graduate of MIT, and geophysicist for Petro Canada.
[20] Following their marriage, she would retire from the Gulf corporation in 1992, yet remains even to this day, an active member of multiple geologic organizations, owns her father's gold mine, and currently resides on a ranch West of Calgary.