Doug Hecox talks comedy, teaching and the future

WASHINGTON- Doug Hecox took a sip of his spicy hot chocolate from the Davenport Coffee Lounge. He was not impressed.

“First of all, whole milk. You’d think they’d tell you that,” Hecox said. “How fat do I need to be?”

Hecox is an adjunct professor in the School of Communication at American University. Currently, his day job is doing public relations for the U.S. Department of Transportation. However, Hecox has held many other job titles. Some of Hecox’s past jobs include working at the White House, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. Mint. He has written articles for major news organizations such as The Washington Post. He has also been a stand-up comedian since 1988.

Hecox emphasized the importance of writing and said it is what has made him successful.

“You can do this stuff until you’re old and grey,” Hecox said, “which is what I’m counting on.”

Hecox’s interest in comedy began when he was an undergraduate journalism student at the University of Wyoming. He sent in an audition tape for a campus comedian search that was being judged by Jerry Seinfeld. Hecox ended up winning, and he met a comedian who helped him get started. From there, Hecox began doing comedy shows.

Hecox wrote a newspaper column with political humor for 20 years, which led him to write books of humorous essays. Hecox has written jokes for “The Jay Leno Show,” and he also wrote an episode for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” after the same comedian who helped him get started told Hecox about the opportunity. Even though his episode for Colbert never aired, Hecox said it felt good to have had the opportunity.

Hecox began teaching due to an experience he had while working as a spokesman at the Mint. Hecox was working alongside an outside public relations firm to promote state quarters. He noticed the promotional materials were filled with grammatical and spelling errors. He brought it to the attention of the firm’s vice president.

The vice president, whose name Hecox can’t remember, happened to be an adjunct broadcast journalism professor at American. The professor was impressed with Hecox’s writing knowledge and invited Hecox to be a guest lecturer for his class. After reviewing Hecox’s resume, the professor said that Hecox was too qualified to be a guest lecturer. He told Hecox to teach at American instead.

Beginning in August 2001, that’s what Hecox did. Since then, Hecox has mainly taught the Writing for Communication course at American. He has also taught Understanding Media and a graduate-level public affairs course. While he helps his students become better writers, he also helps them with other aspects of their lives.

Kelly Phares graduated from American in December 2017 and took Hecox’s class during her second semester of college. Phares, who now works as an assignment editor at Fox News Channel, said she would not be as successful as she is without Hecox’s guidance.

“Doug ended up being a mentor for me,” Phares said, later adding that, “He was just always so willing to sit down with me and talk me through everything.”

Matt Francisco, a junior at American double majoring in audio production and film and media arts, took headshots for Hecox’s comedy work after taking Hecox’s class in spring of 2018. Francisco said it is “really really encouraging and empowering as a creative student” when professors allow students to do real work for them.

Sean Reynolds graduated from American in May and is now a production assistant at the talk show “The View.” Reynolds said that Hecox was one of his favorite professors. Hecox also served as a reference for Reynolds when he was searching for jobs.

“I felt supported by him, I felt encouraged by him, I felt inspired by him,” Reynolds said.

Hecox said he is at a difficult point in his life as he decides what other career choices he wants to make.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do next,” Hecox said. “I’ve accomplished everything I’ve set out to accomplish.”

He said he may have to give up comedy, since he feels he is twice the age of the crowd.

“When they want me to tell jokes about Ariana Grande, who is that?” Hecox said. “Is that something at Starbucks?”

As he is deciding what comes next for himself, Hecox said his advice to students is to be patient while figuring out the future.

“Your career will not be a straight line,” Hecox said. “It’s gonna zig and it’s gonna zag, and there may be times where you take a couple steps backward, you know? But, you will eventually get where you’re going.”

He added one more piece of advice: “Avoid whole milk.”

Doug Hecox sits in the atrium of the School of International Service at American University as he discusses his past, his present and his goals for the future.