Inspiring Graduate: Anne Redmond (’23)
- Hometown: Fredonia
- Degree: M.S. Construction Management
Anne Redmond has been going to school on and off since 2003. As a 2017 B.S. in management UW-Stout alum, she wanted to return to school for her master’s, but couldn't find her degree of choice anywhere locally.
However, UW-Stout had many programs that piqued her interest that other UW locations didn't have, and she found she could complete her master’s degree online.
With financial support from her employer's school reimbursement program, Redmond earned her M.S. in construction management from UW-Stout on Dec. 16, along with 526 graduates.
In her mid-50s, Redmond has been employed in her field for some time. For the past five years, she has been a project manager for A-C Equipment Services in Milwaukee, and before that, spent 24 years designing mining equipment.
“Stout has greatly enhanced what I already know and sharpened my skills. Stout also helped broaden my areas of knowledge within my field,” she said.
What stands out about your UW-Stout experience?
The construction management program has so many excellent professors. I really enjoyed learning from them, and many of them really pushed me to improve my skills.
Also, the ability to be a distance learner made my Stout experience the best. As a result of remote learning, I learned to set goals, be diligent and be a better problem solver.
The ability to learn, whether out on the road traveling for work or huddled at home in the midst of a snowstorm, has been invaluable to me.
The flexibility of the distance program at Stout has been what made my degree possible with my schedule.
What challenges did you face in earning your degree and how did you overcome them?
I had several hard life challenges that I went through. In my first semester, I went through breast cancer treatments. Then about a year later, my husband died in an accident. Three months after he died, my mother died of a heart attack. Later, I was hospitalized with COVID and struggled with recovery while still going to school. Most recently, I have been an intermittent caregiver for one of my sisters who has brain cancer.
It's been a turbulent past several years. These tribulations made it difficult to focus on my schoolwork at times, but I stuck it out and pushed through. Looking back, I don't know how I did it. Being a distance learner helped, I think.
What are you most proud of as you finish your degree?
I am most proud that I stuck it out through my life's difficulties and finished my master's. There were so many times I wanted to quit. Life got to be so hard sometimes.
I was so close to just dropping it all and moving on. I'm glad I didn't. This is a proud moment for me.
I may consider further education since I believe we should never stop learning.
