On Tuesday September 19, American University's Public Relations Student Society of America (AU PRSSA) honored NFL legend Doug Williams as the newest recipient of their ‘Icons of DC’ award, which is given annually to someone whose life has significantly impacted the D.C. community. 

Moderating the event was Julia Mouketo, a current AU School of Communication (SOC) graduate student in the Journalism and Public Affairs program and AU ESPN fellow.  

When Mouketo received the message asking her to moderate the event, she was happily surprised.  

“I was very honored and I was so excited to be picked because Doug Williams is such a big figure here in D.C., so having the chance to just sit and talk to him was a really cool experience.” 

Mouketo was born in the Republic of Congo in Central Africa, where she resided until seven years ago when she and her family moved to the United States. Mouketo attended high school in the states, and upon graduating she enrolled in Hollins University, a private women’s college in Roanoke, Virginia.  

“I went to Hollins intending to study marketing,” she said, “but when I got there the school had closed the marketing department…so then I decided to study communications.”  

It was during her time studying abroad that Mouketo realized she wanted to be a journalist.  

“I had my first journalism internship when I was studying abroad in London, England,” she said. “I was working for a magazine and while I was there I thought ‘This is so cool!’ and knew that this was the career I wanted to pursue.” 

After graduating from Hollins University in May 2023, she began applying to graduate schools.  

“What really made a difference for me was the programs AU offered,” she said, “I think AU is very unique in the fact that their graduate programs are very hands-on and are very heavily on-field classes and experiences.” 

Mouketo also remarked on how her professors at AU take so much time to support and connect with students. 

“Coming to a school where you have professors who actually like talking to you and are willing to help you at all times is important. Here professors are always recommending you for opportunities outside of the classroom, and I think that made a big difference for me.” 

While completing her graduate degree at AU, Julia was also selected as the second ESPN Investigative Journalism Fellow. The partnership between the university and ESPN began in the ‘22-’23 academic year, and the inugural fellow, Shwetha Surdendran, is now a reporter for the major sports news outlet. 

“Right now I am sitting in on meetings with different people who are writing different investigative stories, and learning from them. They made it very clear from the beginning that this wasn’t an internship where you come to sit and learn, instead you come and you participate because they want to learn from you as well.” 

The SOC and PRSSA teams involved in planning the event made Mouketo feel ready despite some nerves. 

“The event went really well. At first I was scared because I am not a big public speaker, but everyone who was involved with planning the event made it really easy for me to be comfortable and feel ready for the event.” As Mouketo continues her fellowship at ESPN and works toward her graduate degree, she is thankful to have this experience is under her belt and is looking forward to what the rest of her time at AU will be like. 

“Speaking to Doug was great,” Mouketo said. “After the event he thanked me and told me I asked great questions which made me feel good.” 

Like many others who attended the event, Mouketo was inspired by Williams’ honest advice.  

“One thing that really touched me was that he was so true, honest and raw.” she said. “When someone in the audience asked a question about what he would say to younger generations he answered very honestly and said that not everyone is going to make it to the NFL, and I think that’s something that is true for every single area in life. Not all of us are going to make it and become this big journalist, and that’s ok because your work is no less important.”