From Doubt to Dual Degrees
Julia Narvaez Munguia was certain she wasn’t going to get into Northwestern University. But when the surprising acceptance email arrived, she faced a tough decision: journalism or education and social policy?
For two years, Narvaez Munguia studied journalism in the Medill School of Journalism and took classes in the School of Education and Social Policy. Then, almost miraculously, Northwestern launched a dual degree program between the two schools before her junior year.
Narvaez Munguia was all in.
In June, she became the first graduate of the five-year dual degree program in education, social policy and journalism. For Narvaez Munguia, the daughter of Honduran immigrants who grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina, double the ceremonies meant double the joy.
“Just seeing [my family] attending two convocations within one of the best universities in the country was such an honor,” she said.
The dual degree allowed her to study both elements of her passion—media and policy—and how they intersect with education. “It’s the best of both worlds,” she said.
Not only did she get twice the experience, but also twice the support. She credits her SESP adviser, Ian Williams with helping her map out her courses to complete both degrees.
“He was just 100 percent always present, always willing to help me out, and honestly, just give me encouragement when I needed it,” she said. “You get two really great schools who care about you, whose advisers and professors take the time to invest in you.”
Williams called Narvaez Munguia "a joy to work with. She was always on top of things and in-touch, flexible and understanding," he said.
'I hated school'
Narvaez Munguia’s interest in education and policy stems from her experience in underserved schools throughout elementary and middle school.
“I hated school with my whole gut,” she said, recalling how she often skipped classes. Still, she noticed that many of her classmates were living in poverty. Her teachers—whom she described as “incredible”—did more than just teach lessons. “They supported students in other ways, like making sure they had enough to eat,” she said.
Things changed in high school, when she enrolled in a more rigorous program where most students went on to college. But she still felt out of place, with below grade math skills and a background that differed from her peers.
Narvaez Munguia had her sights set on Northwestern, but never believed she’d get in. “I didn’t have the test scores... didn’t have the grades,” she said.
But she had drive. In high school, she dual-enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW), served as president of her school’s Future Business Leaders of America chapter, and was a member of both the National Honor Society and UNCW’s Communication Studies Society.
“I was in the bottom half of my high school graduating class, so I never, ever thought Northwestern would accept me,” she said.
Her childhood education experiences inspired her to become an education reporter. She saw a “huge contrast” between her early school years—where kids struggled, dropped out or ended up incarcerated—and her later schooling, where most students headed to college.
“My dream would be to report on education at a national level, to visit communities and schools, keep systems accountable, and understand how they’re failing kids—but also highlight districts doing great things,” she said.
At Northwestern, Narvaez Munguia strung together an impressive list of internships. In 2022 she worked as a general news intern for Spectrum News in Raleigh, North Carolina. The following summer she was a broadcast intern at the TODAY Show.
Last year she worked both as a multimedia journalism resident for WKYT in Lexington, Kentucky and returned to the TODAY Show in New York City as a booking intern. Her last stop before graduation was a reporting internship at WECT in her hometown of Wilmington.
She’ll begin her career as a multimedia journalist at Spectrum News 1 in Louisville, Kentucky. The role brings her full circle; her first internship at Spectrum News reaffirmed her love of character-driven journalism.
Now Narvaez Munguia hopes others will follow the trail she’s blazed.
“I’m so glad I was able to take the risk and do something scary that no one had done before. I really, really want others to do it too,” she said.