By Sarah Beth Neese

Sarah Redmond has begun her newest adventure as Collegiate’s Assistant Head of Upper School and an English 10 teacher. Redmond’s natural gravitation towards finding new and unknown endeavors in her life ultimately guided her to choose to work at Collegiate. Redmond shared that “the experience of going somewhere new has served me well throughout my life.” Redmond is enthusiastic about diving deeper into the Collegiate community and growing even closer with her colleagues and students. 

Born and raised in Richmond, Redmond attended St. Catherine’s and then went on to study at Harvard University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in English. She later earned her master’s degrees from Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania in English and school leadership. During her time at St. Catherine’s, Redmond would have been found on the stage pursuing her dance and choral talents, as well as on the field hockey field and basketball court. When asked about her experience at St. Catherine’s, Redmond said, “One of the things I loved about St. Catherine’s was that I was able to pursue my many extra-curricular passions all in one place.” 

When asked about her childhood, Redmond reflected on how she remembers taking walks around the James River Park system and talking to her mom about monarch butterflies and the milkweed plants. Redmond’s mother, Gigi Redmond, a retired Middle School science teacher from St. Catherine’s, always made learning an exciting experience. Redmond shared that it was her mom that taught her the importance of curiosity and wonder, and that it is important to question who we are and our positions in the world. Looking back on her mom’s role in her life, Redmond believes that it was her mom that sparked her interest in pursuing the path of teaching. 

When choosing to attend Harvard, Redmond hoped to immerse herself in a challenging new environment and expand outside her comfort zone. Redmond attempted to study several different majors before deciding she wanted to major in English. Although it was tough at first for her to adjust to life in Boston and at Harvard, Redmond enjoyed her college experience and continues to let the decision of going somewhere new guide many other aspects of her life, including her new role at Collegiate. 

Upon graduating from college, Redmond taught at the International School of Perth in Western Australia. There she worked as an English teacher, music teacher, and dorm parent. Through her experience in Australia, Redmond had the opportunity to acquire her scuba diving certification and encountered several dives and hikes as she traveled between Perth and Darwin. After her time in Australia, Redmond lived in New York City for a short period. She worked at an arts-in-education non-profit, Arts Connection, which places teaching artists in residencies in New York City public schools. In addition to working at Arts Connection, Redmond led school-group tours at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan for students in grades PreK-8.  

Redmond and her daughter, Eugenia.

Before coming to Collegiate, Redmond spent three years working at Barrie School, a Montessori School in Silver Spring, Maryland. At Barrie, Redmond taught high school interdisciplinary humanities. Following that, Redmond worked as a department chair and grade dean at Georgetown Day School in Washington, D.C.

What drove Redmond to move back to Richmond was her family. Redmond is a single mother; her daughter, Eugenia, is in JK at Collegiate. Being back in her hometown, Redmond is surrounded by the support of her parents, brother, sister-in-law, cousins, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews. Redmond enjoys that Eugenia can regularly play with her cousins now that she lives closer. 

In her free time, Redmond enjoys conducting and performing in choral concerts. Although she has not done this since Eugenia was born, she plans on continuing this passion of hers in the future. In addition, Redmond and her daughter enjoy singing and dancing around the house to Frozen, Lion King, and Mary Poppins. On the weekends, they can be found embarking on new adventures, whether it be discovering a new hike or enjoying their time on a playground. Redmond describes herself and Eugenia as “extroverts that are always looking for people to play with and talk to.” Although COVID-19 has brought challenges for connecting with new people, Redmond is extremely grateful for having family so close.  

Currently working as the Upper School Assistant Head and an English teacher, Redmond can support students and teachers across the school and have the opportunity to bond with a small group of sophomores while discussing literature. Redmond says, “One of the things that I love about both of these jobs is that they rely on ‘both-and’ thinking. Human beings are complex, and literature and life are both full of paradoxes. There are rarely easy answers, and learning to sit with unanswerable questions, with deeply tangled tensions, with the intricate histories of power, is really humbling and really exciting to me.” 

When asked about her favorite part about Collegiate, Redmond said that meeting her new colleagues and teaching her Z period English 10 class are some of her favorite aspects so far. Collegiate’s emphasis on the Honor Code is also something that Redmond profoundly values. In addition, Redmond appreciates how welcoming her colleagues and students have been in her first two months at Collegiate. Redmond’s radiating positivity and energetic personality make it almost impossible not to want to approach her.  

Redmond encourages all of her students and colleagues to try to soak up every possible experience and take advantage of any opportunities when they are available as we embark on a new school year. 

Photos courtesy of Sarah Redmond.