2017 Best & Brightest: Barrett Redmond, Wake Forest

Barrett Redmond

Wake Forest School of Business

“A lactose-intolerant diary lover with a passion for adventure.”

Hometown: Richmond, VA

High School: Collegiate School

Major: Business & Enterprise Management, concentrating in Nonprofit Management

Minor: Double minor in Studio Art and Entrepreneurship & Social Enterprise

Favorite Business Courses: Marketing, Nonprofit Leadership

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

  • Trip Leader for Outdoor Pursuits
  • CHARGE Student Leadership Mentor
  • 7 semesters of Dean’s List
  • Communications Chair of Chi Omega
  • Student Government Legislature (2013)
  • Campus Kitchen Volunteer
  • Co-Founder of Dinner with 7 Strangers
  • Founder/Manager of Pitstagram

Where have you interned during your college career?

  • Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C., Media & Technology Intern
  • Diehl Gallery, Jackson, WY, Gallery Intern
  • Blue Sky fund, Richmond, VA, Productions & Marketing Intern

Describe your dream Job: My dream job would consist of work that allows me to directly help and serve others while also allowing me to utilize my creativity and people skills.

What did you enjoy most about majoring in a business-related field? I enjoyed majoring in a business-related because I appreciate how flexible and applicable my business knowledge is both inside and outside the business world. My major taught me how to think analytically and view world issues, political issues, and social issues through a questioning eye.

Where would you like to work after graduation? After graduation, I would love to be able to utilize my creativity skills by working for a company’s marketing, media or advertising department. Although I do not know where I will be next year, I hope to gain valuable and transferrable skills from my job that I can apply to my career path moving forward.

What are your long-term professional goals? Long-term, I would love to start a company or social enterprise of my own that maximizes social impact in a sustainable and community-drive way.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? I would advise a student looking to major in a business-related filed to try to incorporate and apply their business knowledge to their personal passions outside of the classroom. To me, it’s more important to build yourself, not your resume. However, by following your passion and applying your education, the former will usually lead to the latter.

“I knew I wanted to major in business when…when I learned that Wake Forest Business School’s offered a major in Nonprofit Management.”

“If I didn’t major in business, I would be…an English major.”

“Before I entered business school, I wish I had known…how valuable my experience in the Business School would be from day one.”

What was the happiest moment of your life? So far, the happiest moment in my life was that day I got accepted to Wake Forest University. It was so relieving and exciting to know that my hard work was valued and appreciated by a school of caliber like Wake Forest, and I could not contain my happiness thinking of all the opportunities at Wake Forest that were still to come.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Of my academic, extracurricular and personal achievements, I am most proud of founding Dinner with 7 Strangers at Wake Forest. Dinner with 7 Strangers invites seven members of the Wake Forest community to come together around a table, share a home-cooked meal, and maybe a little bit about themselves too. Inspired by Dinner with 7 Strangers at Georgetown University, the goal of Dinner with 7 Strangers is to create and foster a more interconnected and inclusive community on Wake Forest’s campus. All are welcome to the table. Since the launch of Dinner with 7 Strangers, we have hosted over eleven dinners, impacting over seventy-seven members of the Wake Forest community. That number continues to grow as the number of hosted dinners increases each month. In a time of political and racial division, I am proud to be a part of something that brings people together and fosters unity in our community.

What animal would you choose to represent your professional brand? I would choose a dragonfly to represent my professional self because although they are small, dragonflies are creative and colorful insects that are constantly moving, exploring and are quick to adapt to changing environments.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? I owe every part of my success to my parents and my teachers and professors who molded and shaped my learning path and personal growth. My parents love and enduring support have given me the confidence to pursue my passions regardless of expectations. The teachers and professors I’ve had the pleasure of learning from throughout my educational career have instilled in me the knowledge, skills and passion to succeed and grow as a life-long student.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope that my business school peers would say that I challenged their thinking and added value to their business school education both inside and outside of the classroom.

Favorite book: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

Favorite movie: Hidden Figures

Favorite musical performer: Beyoncé

Favorite vacation spot: Jackson Hole, WY

What are your hobbies? Running, hiking, rock climbing, reading and cooking

What made Barrett such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2017? “Barrett is more than an outstanding student. Yes, she is intelligent, hard-working, well-prepared and engaged right up there with the best of our brightest students. However, what sets her apart is the way she is. She is thoughtful in a very reflective, quiet, yet creative way. She is very inclusive and finds ways to set others in the class as ease and to bring them along, when needed. In the fall, Barrett organized a small group of students in the leadership class to begin a movement on campus that she heard about on a different campus. Dinners with 8 Strangers was launched as a way to build community and break down barriers on campus. She is truly exceptional.”

Holly H. Brower, PhD
Associate Professor
Faculty Advisor for Internship Program
Business and Enterprise Management Program
Wake Forest University, School of Business

DON’T MISS: THE FULL HONOR ROLL: THE BEST & BRIGHTEST UNDERGRADUATE BUSINESS MAJORS OF 2017

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