Not only was Redmond, 18, born legally blind, he has endured more than 12 operations to relieve fluid on his brain and spent several months in a coma when he was 13.

"By the time I came out of the coma, my legs were so weak I had to learn to walk again," Redmond said. "That was a drag."

Recently Redmond beat the odds once again by being selected as one of 20 finalists in the Johnson & Wales University of Rhode Island National High School Recipe Contest. This year, nearly 700 high school seniors entered the contest.

Since 1989, Johnson & Wales University of Rhode Island, whose academic options include food-service and hospitality training, has sponsored a recipe contest to encourage high school students with an interest in food preparation to focus on healthy cooking and baking. Recipes are divided into two categories, "family dinner for four" and "dessert." Both are judged on a variety of elements including taste, appearance and nutritional value. The grand prizewinner in each category is awarded a full $75,000 scholarship to the university.

On March 13, Redmond traveled to the university's Denver campus to make and present his recipe for a low-fat chocolate raspberry tower with amaretto custard sauce, which competed in the dessert category.

Prior to the competition Redmond said, "The way I see it, I've already won. I am guaranteed a $3,500-a-year scholarship to Johnson & Wales just for being named a finalist."

As of press time Redmond was named first runner up in the national competition winning a four-year $30,000 scholarship.

Redmond, a senior at Leigh High School and a student at Central County Occupational Center, is concentrating on the field of culinary arts. The center, part of MetroED, is a career-technical high school supported by six school districts. The culinary arts program teaches students basic cooking techniques through practice labs and demonstrations. Redmond enrolled in the program on the suggestion of a teacher at Leigh.

"I took a cooking class at Leigh my freshman year," Redmond said. "This led to a more advanced class, and the teacher suggested I look into the work-ed program offered at CCOC."

He enjoys cooking because it combines knowledge, skill and creativity.

"It's not enough to know what to do and how to do it. I need to be creative to pull together new recipes and make them appealing to the eye," he said.

Redmond admits some things would be easier to do if his sight was better, but he has learned to make adjustments to fit his needs, including enlarging his recipe's print by 400 percent. This tenacity has impressed his CCOC culinary arts teacher, Michelle Myers Ramos.

"He doesn't let his visual impairment hinder him," Ramos said. "Instead of saying I can't do this, Redmond says, 'How can I do this?'"

Redmond plans to take a double major—baking and pastry arts and culinary arts. After obtaining his degree, Redmond hopes to find a job with a cruise line.

"They work really hard," Redmond said. "But they cook everything, so it would be great experience."

And before Redmond knew the contest outcome he said, "I am ecstatic to be going. This is the first big dream of mine to come true. If I wasn't going to be a chef, I would be a rock star. But with cooking, I have control of my future. It's up to me to work hard in order to make it."