(Photo by: Sammie Magee)

Mary Redmond has lived an exciting life as a nontraditional student, filled with experience. She’s just finished her first semester at JCCC, and will be returning in the fall. But her first day here was anything but easy.

“So when I walked in, I told [my classmates], ‘You guys, I didn’t have anybody to walk in with, and that was hard.’ And one of them said, ‘Everyone of us would walk in with you today and hold your hand,’” Redmond said.

The same students who have promised to hold her hand and walk to class with her have loved her presence in class this semester.

“She just brings such a light to our classroom, she’s always happy to be there,” Brayton Boxberger said. “She’s such an amazing soul,”

Redmond has already experienced college and graduated from UMKC with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology, but she is back at school because of her husband, Dwain. Dwain passed away roughly three years ago after 34 years of marriage.

They met through their careers. Redmond financed multi-million dollar equipment packages, and Dwain’s company needed to purchase equipment.

“This six-foot-tall, big-shouldered, handsome man with this gorgeous smile stood up, and I thought ‘Oh, I’m done for if he’s single,’” Redmond said.

They dated for a little under three years before Dwain proposed. They eloped to Lake Tahoe for the water and the mountains, and they were wed on Halloween at a Scandinavian castle.

“There’s a story of a man who built it for his wife, and he died and never got to live there, but she lived there. There was a little island out in front of it, and then the story was she went over there to meet her love. Fun story. So we went and [got] married,” Redmond said.

Redmond’s career, something she calls her destiny, was nothing close to boring. She dealt with financing for large equipment deals for the first half of her employment, and for the second half, she worked as a professional trainer and speaker, traveling around the U.S., Mexico and Canada teaching people how to be a more successful negotiator. She has also created programs and workshops about body language.

Outside of her professional career, Redmond has enjoyed cooking, baking, reading, socializing with friends, drinking coffee–even though doctors have warned her to avoid it–and hiking. Along with her hobbies, she also enjoys volunteering.

“For the past 12 years, I’ve been a volunteer and presented job interviewing classes at Sheffield Place,” Redmond said. “Sheffield Place is a trauma-informed treatment and housing program in Kansas City dedicated to helping homeless mothers and their children heal, recover and achieve self-sufficiency.”

She has also spent time volunteering at a place that is dear to her heart–a nonprofit that provided support to her and her husband.

“For the past five years, I’ve volunteered at Deeper Window, a non-profit organization in Leavenworth, Kansas, that supports families affected by dementia,” Redmond said. “It offers a Dementia Empowerment Engagement Program designed to help individuals with early to moderate-stage dementia and provide much-needed support for their caregivers.”

Redmond, also known as the “FearLess Negotiator,” is fearless in other aspects of life as well. She once skydived from a plane at 15,000 feet. At 30 years old, she solo-traveled through Europe for six weeks. Once, she even presented to a convention audience of 1,000 people with only a one-hour notice.

“Keep expectations and options open. When entering JCCC, many tend to think we know what work and lifestyle we would like,” Redmond said. “ However, while studying, we may find out other curriculum and content clicks, and you realize you want to go another direction. Embrace it. Dig deeper. Explore more about the new field,”