Lambert Student Seeks Career as Sports Announcer

At the end of this school year, Lambert Public School will have to let go of an outstanding sports announcer. Julen Idoate has been announcing the Lambert and Richey home games for several months but will be graduating this year. He plans on seeking a career in sports broadcasting. Julen was not always interested in communications but last year he tried out for the basketball team but could not play for technical reasons. The coach suggested he try his hand at announcing the game over Network 1 Sports, the school's radio station. Julen tried it and discovered his calling. He truly enjoys what he does. He said, "I love sports and I love to talk so I thought I should make a career out of it."

No one in Julen's family is in radio. His father, Ignacio, came to Sidney from Spain as a foreign exchange student. He fell in love with a young girl named Angie, Julen's mother, and decided he wanted to stay. Julen is not without support in his endeavors, however. He says he keeps in contact with one of the L.A. Lakers sports announcers for support and advice.

Julen was born in Sidney and has lived in northeastern Montana his entire life, although, he travels to Spain once a year to visit with his father's side of the family. He wants to attend college but has not yet decided which one he will attend. He likes the broadcasting program at Minot State University and the Communications program at the University of Montana. He will most likely attend one of those. After college, he plans to get a job as a radio announcer in Williston or elsewhere in the MonDak region. Julen says his ultimate goal would be to work for a college or television station like ESPN, NBC or CBS. He likes to plan out his goals in small steps, however, so currently his sights are set on Williston.