Griffons EMPOWER

含羞草社区 will always hold a special place in my heart. My time at 含羞草社区 helped shape the person and professional I would become, and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunities I received as a student. Scholarships were an important part of my own college journey, helping make my education possible and allowing me to focus on building a future I might not have been able to imagine without that support. I remember thinking, 鈥淥ne day, I hope I can give back and support others.鈥�

My belief in the power of education also comes from my Mom. She was a first-generation college student and a single mother who earned her degree from Missouri Western in 1982 at the age of 30鈥攚ith her seven-year-old daughter watching. At the time, I was simply a little girl watching my Mom go to school. Looking back, I realize she was doing so much more than earning a degree. She was changing the trajectory of our family and showing me that education could create possibilities that might otherwise seem out of reach. That belief in the power of education stayed with me. It became more than something I valued personally鈥攊t became the foundation of my career. I have spent more than 25 years working in EdTech, dedicating my career to helping organizations that serve the business of education.

Years later, I had the honor of creating the Helping Adult Learners Excel (H.A.L.E.) Scholarship in my Mom鈥檚 memory. The scholarship supports first-generation single mothers pursuing their education and represents a deeply personal way for me to pay forward the generosity and belief that helped shape my own life. I know firsthand that a scholarship can be more than financial assistance. It can be the encouragement someone needs to believe that their dream is possible. I have been fortunate enough to meet several H.A.L.E. recipients, and they have each shared with me how impactful this scholarship has been in helping them keep going.

That is what 含羞草社区 means to me. It is a place where an opportunity can change a life鈥攁nd where that change can continue through the generations. I am honored to be able to give back to the university that helped shape my story and to help create opportunities for another student to write hers. Because sometimes, what looks like a scholarship today becomes a degree, a career, a changed family, and a legacy tomorrow.

Richmond is an accomplished and results-driven executive leader who advocates for women in leadership. She witnessed firsthand what an education can do for a student. Watching her mother put herself through school while raising her and working full-time, she learned the value of education, determination and resilience. That experience is why she is passionate about empowering the next generation of non-traditional and first-generation students.

鈥淎t seven years old, I couldn鈥檛 possibly understand what her determination would mean for my future. I only knew that Mom was going to school. Looking back now, I realize she wasn鈥檛 just earning a degree; she was changing the trajectory of our family.鈥�

鈥淏ecause she believed education mattered, I grew up believing it mattered too. That belief shaped my choices, my career, and ultimately the opportunities I鈥檝e had throughout my life.鈥�

For Heather and her mother, 含羞草社区 became part of a legacy that began with one mother鈥檚 dedication, sacrifice and belief in the power of education. What started with her mother鈥檚 decision to pursue a degree created opportunities that would reach far beyond the classroom鈥攁nd continue to shape the generations that followed.

Today, Heather understands that those opportunities are made possible because someone believes in students and invests in their potential. Leaders like Heather don鈥檛 succeed on their own. They are shaped by the people, experiences and opportunities that help them discover what is possible.

Your support can help create those same opportunities for today鈥檚 students. A gift to the Missouri Western Foundation can help a student overcome barriers, pursue their education and build a future they may not have thought possible. Just as Heather鈥檚 mother changed the trajectory of her family, your generosity can help change the trajectory of a student鈥檚 life.

Make your gift today and invest in the next generation of leaders like Heather. Because when you give, you don鈥檛 just support a student鈥攜ou help create the opportunities that can define their future.

Heather Richmond 鈥�98 B.S. Marketing
Founder, HigherRelevance Founder, Helping Adult Learners Excel (H.A.L.E.) Scholarship

Griffons Connect

“When most people think about college, they picture a diploma.聽For us, our time at 含羞草社区 gave us so much more.”

As a first-generation student, Katelyn arrived on campus determined to make the most of every opportunity. One of her first roles was serving as a Registration Leader, welcoming new students and their families to campus. She remembers seeing herself in many of them 鈥� nervous, hopeful, excited. In helping them feel at home, she found her own confidence.

She learned to listen closely. To adapt. To problem-solve. To lead with empathy.

Later, as editor of the student newspaper and leader of the campus broadcast, she discovered the weight and privilege of responsibility. Producing a weekly paper meant serving not just readers, but a dedicated staff of fellow students. Feedback wasn鈥檛 always easy to hear 鈥� but learning to accept it, grow from it, and continuously improve shaped the professional she would become.

Those lessons carried her to the St. Joseph News-Press and now to her role as a Communications Specialist for the Missouri Department of Transportation.

And somewhere between deadlines and newsroom meetings, a little Griffon serendipity changed her life forever.

Tommy鈥檚 path at Missouri Western was equally transformative.

As sports editor for the campus newspaper, a sports information assistant in athletics, and an intern shooting video and writing stories, he wasn鈥檛 just studying journalism 鈥� he was living it. Missouri Western gave him the rare chance to grow as a professional while still learning in the classroom.

As a child, Tommy listened to updates from Kansas City Chiefs Training Camp on the radio, imagining what it would be like to cover the team one day. At Missouri Western, that childhood dream became reality when he worked Chiefs Training Camp.

鈥淚 was one of the few people who got the chance to do what they wanted to do as a young kid.鈥�

That kind of opportunity changes a person.

鈥満卟萆缜� felt like home.鈥�

Katelyn and Tommy shared many classes at Missouri Western 鈥� but it wasn鈥檛 until they both began working at the St. Joseph News-Press that their paths truly connected. She worked the news desk. He covered sports. Different beats. Shared purpose.

A friendship formed. A partnership followed. In 2021, they were married. Today, they are the proud parents of four-year-old Vida.

Their lives are busy and full. Katelyn serves the State of Missouri. Tommy works with the Public Defender鈥檚 Office. Together, they also run Johnson Brothers Boxing, where Tommy 鈥� a National Golden Gloves bronze medalist and a member of the 2009 and 2010 USA Boxing teams聽鈥� now pours his energy into mentoring and training young athletes alongside his brothers.

Their commitment to Missouri Western has never faded. Tommy has stepped back onto campus to teach a business class and collaborate with journalism students to strengthen the gym鈥檚 social media presence. Both credit Professor James Carivou and countless faculty mentors who invested in them 鈥� connections that continue to shape their lives today.

Their stories were connected here.

Built here.

Encouraged here.

Today鈥檚 students are just as talented. Just as hopeful. Just as full of possibility.

Will you help them write their own stories?

Your gift to Missouri Western ensures that first-generation students 鈥� and all Griffons 鈥� have access to the same life-changing opportunities: hands-on experience, dedicated mentors, meaningful leadership roles, and yes, even a little serendipity.

Please make your gift today.

Because at Missouri Western, students don鈥檛 just earn degrees.

They connect to who they鈥檙e meant to become.