AHS alum receives Emmy nomination

Ever wondered what it would feel like to be an Emmy Award winner at the age of 23?

Ask Jordan Prokell.

The 2021 graduate of Aledo High School received an Emmy nomination from the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences as part of the University of Texas creative team for a documentary called Rivalry Restored.

The documentary chronicles the return of the rivalry between the Texas A&M and the University of Texas football teams, which experienced a more than decade-long hiatus after Texas A&M left the Big XII football conference in 2012 to join the SEC.

Prokell, a UT alum, said the project was a labor of love for her and her team at FloMo Sports.

“It was a group effort,” Prokell said. “As people may know, the rivalry between Texas A&M and Texas was restored my senior year of college. I think there were 12 years where they weren’t playing each other, and obviously, when it was announced we were going to be back in the same conference playing each other and resuming the rivalry, there was a lot of excitement.”

What Prokell could not have realized at the time was the impact that Rivalry Restored would have, as her team would later receive an Emmy for the project — an award the AHS graduate would accept herself.

“My co-workers who worked with me on the documentary couldn’t come to the awards ceremony because it was a crazy, hectic week, and they wanted me to represent us,” Prokell said. “I thought, ‘Okay, I’ll go to the awards ceremony, enjoy the food, and make some connections.’ Then they called my name, and I was like, ‘Crap!’ I was so nervous, but I went up there, gave my speech, gave credit where credit was due, and that was it.”

But — not really.

“I wish I had a pace monitor on me to check my heart rate,” Prokell admitted. “It was an incredible feeling. I immediately texted my co-workers about it, and we were all so happy. They said they were watching on the stream and screaming. It was just such a monumental moment for UT as a whole.

“We have such incredible creatives there, and we’re finally getting recognition for it and putting our work out there and taking credit where credit’s due. Our hard work paid off, because those two weeks were actual hell.”

Prokell shared the Sports Documentary win with coordinating producer Nicholas Hetherington and assistant director of creative video Daren Cowels.

Prokell’s filmmaking portfolio includes several other notable projects, including Here Comes Texas: A Title IX Story, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX as well as the Texas Rowing team’s first national championship.

Prokell also contributed to Eddie Reese — Unparalleled Success, spotlighting the legendary University of Texas swimming coach’s record-breaking career along with a tribute video honoring Aledo football standout JoJo Earle.

The AHS graduate works for Flo Sports, a sports media company based in Austin, where she is involved in a number of projects.

“I’m on the content team,” Prokell said. “It’s the OVP, the Original Video Production team, and I have to say, we are a badass team. I love our team so much, but we go out and shoot events. We shoot for documentaries and really anything we get called to shoot for advertising, marketing, events.”

Prokell does freelance videography on the side as well and said the most rewarding aspects of her job are retelling other people’s accomplishments and challenges, and all of the fun she has along the way.

“The one thing in life that I always want to do is hear people’s stories and share them with the world,” Prokell said. “I just absolutely love people. I don’t know how else to say it. I love interviewing and connecting with people. I love being able to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to share your story with the world.’ I want other people to see it. 

“I want to be a part of something bigger than myself where people watch and they’re like, ‘Wow, life is crazy.’ Being able to travel with our team, like when we stayed in an Airbnb, I think there were like six of us this past week, and we’re staying up until like 2 or 3 a.m., just having fun, getting through it and having each other’s backs. It’s a very different work experience compared to my friends…we’re singing karaoke at 3 a.m. after we get done with our work.”

And the Aledo High School graduate has a bit of advice for younger people who are interested in what she does for a living.

“A lot of people try to chase the money, but I kept my eyes on my passion and what I really cared about, which was sharing people’s stories,” Prokell said. “It’s what I love to do and what makes me feel alive. I just think that, no matter what, people need to strive for what makes them feel alive.”