Growing up in Ray County has instilled a deep sense of pride in me, making it incredibly humbling to be able to contribute to my hometown paper. My name is Joshua Brungardt, and I have lived in Ray County my whole life. After graduating from Richmond High School in 2021, I embarked on the next chapter of my academic journey at Truman State University, where I am currently studying communication. My ultimate goal is to carve out a career in sports broadcasting, leveraging my passion for sports and communication into a fulfilling profession. 

Throughout my high school years, I was faced with the daunting task of deciding on my future career path. After a lot of contemplation, I settled on the idea of pursuing a career as an architect. My decision stemmed from my childhood fascination with building and constructing things using Lego sets. It turns out that constructing skyscrapers isn’t as easy as slapping one brick on top of another. I would need to improve my math and science, subjects that I struggled with and didn't particularly enjoy. I decided to cut ties with this particular dream and look for something new. 

Starting my freshman year of college, I felt a strong urge to select a major. With the guidance of my supportive parents, I eventually settled on declaring a history major. History has always been an interesting subject and I prided myself on having a deep knowledge of it. However, after only two semesters of this work, it became clear that it wasn't the right path for me. I made the decision to drop the major and for the entirety of my sophomore year, I found myself in the uncertain position of being undeclared.  

Going into my junior year, I was overwhelmed with a sense of urgency to find my path. I turned to my parents for guidance once more and they took the time to highlight my strengths and suggest potential career options. However, what stood out the most in their counsel was their advice to turn to prayer. Feeling lost in a sea of uncertainty, I turned to God for help.  

Now, this has all felt very dramatic to write, but what comes next seems to me to be very anticlimactic. I found myself in the communication department, where I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Donald Krause. Through the course of several informative meetings with him, I saw what the department had to offer and determined that I could find something that really interested me there. This led me to declare a communication major and Professor Krause became my full-time advisor. 

Ever since that point, things have fallen into place rather seamlessly. I found coursework that I enjoyed and people that I had a lot in common with. I made friends and connections with my peers and my professors. Despite finding my major, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was still missing. Uncertain about my future prospects, a friend invited me to a sports broadcasting meeting one evening and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. After a couple of meetings, I became a member of the team and have been ever since. In this team, I've discovered a clear path towards a career post-graduation and the work we do is incredibly fulfilling. 

I have had a rocky road to get to where I am now, but I have also been blessed. Working alongside a fantastic group of people, I have gotten to call Truman’s baseball, football, basketball, and volleyball games over the radio for several months. Additionally, I had the amazing opportunity to announce live-streamed basketball games in St. Charles. Using this platform, I have gotten to work with the Kansas City Comets organization; producing game recaps for their social media platforms. 

The Richmond News is an excellent place to continue my journey. The members of the team here care very much about the work that they do, and they have opened their arms to me as a new part of the team. I thoroughly enjoy working with the team to tackle new stories and I believe that the Richmond News offers me a wonderful opportunity to continue to learn and grow in my field. 

The success I’ve achieved can be credited to the unwavering support of my family and friends and my faith in God. Without their guidance and the solace I find in prayer, I wouldn’t have this amazing opportunity. I am eager to use my skills and knowledge to write compelling articles for this paper that the people of Richmond and the surrounding areas will read and, hopefully, enjoy. My goal is to give valuable insight into local issues and to give you, the readers, an interesting read each time you pick up the paper. Thank you to all of you who read the Richmond News and may God’s blessings be with you.