Ten Iowa State student comics each performed five-minute sets in front of a panel of judges at the second annual Student Union Board (SUB) Stand-Up Comedy Contest late Thursday.

Each comic was completely different, but shared one common goal: fill the tiny Maintenance Shop (M-Shop) with big laughs. Returning from last year’s Comedy Contest, the event was hosted by professional stand-up comedian Pete Lee, who ended the night with his own full-length set.

The evening kicked off with a bit of banter from Lee, who is known for his appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Despite a broken elbow, Lee got the crowd warmed up and ready for the student competition with plenty of jokes about college life and Iowa weather.

Ashish Jha, senior in mechanical engineering, was first up with his take on how people give babies more credit than they deserve. Following him was Chirayu Shukla, senior in biology, who had plenty of stories to tell about being an Indian man in Iowa.

Shukla shifted gears towards the end of his set, calling out agriculture majors with a string of “You might be an ag student if…” riffs. Shukla won the contest’s People’s Choice Award.

Each student set was broken up by small pockets of filler from Lee, ensuring the laughs ran aplenty and momentum was never lost. Lee even improvised some contestant’s introductions, making for spontaneous material the crowd uproariously appreciated.

Julian Totton, junior in communication studies, went edgier with his set — cracking jokes about politics, social issues and, “every subject that could get you cancelled,” Lee said.

Quinn Sturm, senior in computer science, brought the mood back up and won third place overall for his energetic performance.

Eric Exner, junior in industrial engineering, brought laughs with a poem about donating plasma for money.

Nolan Galvin, sophomore in food science (AGLS) and opener for professional comedian Rae Sanni for SUB Comedy Night in October, made light his struggles of being a Latino American who doesn’t know Spanish.

Tom Sun, senior in computer engineering, received second place for providing the audience with a humorous list of do’s and don’ts, as well as debunking myths about his fellow engineering majors.

Following performances by Caden Washburn, junior in chemical engineering, and Jonathan Faughn, senior in mechanical engineering, was Jake McGuire, junior in marketing, who took home first place.

McGuire split sides with an epic tale of how he ripped his pants at two consecutive high school dances, and detailed the notoriety he gained from it.

McGuire said he was encouraged to try his hand at stand-up comedy because his friends told him he was a great storyteller.

“It feels amazing [to win], I really didn’t expect it so I was not prepared at all,” McGuire said.

McGuire said he only began doing stand-up a year and a half ago and he is proud to have something to show for his passion.

“I really just love the rush of being onstage,” McGuire said. “I’ve always liked to perform with other people, and being onstage by myself and getting to tell people my stories is really, really rewarding.”

Robert Reinhard, president of Iowa State’s Stand Up Comedy Club and senior in software engineering, said he saw his first stand-up show exactly one year ago at last year’s stand-up contest.

He started doing comedy that same week, and coming full circle, helped organize this year’s installment. Reinhard, having been so strongly influenced by student comedy, said he has loved watching this year’s contestants grow.

“This is about all the comics that performed tonight, and I’m really proud of the sets they’ve done,” Reinhard said. “I’ve been watching them work on them for the last couple of months in Des Moines — at places like Java Joes, Teehee’s, Lefty’s Live Music and at the M-Shop — even on Tuesday, they were still working to nail down their sets as best as they could. I’m really proud of them.”

Despite his schedule as a full time comic and actor, Lee hosts college comedy contests all over the nation, and said he loves doing it because of how many aspiring comics he meets.

“When I was in college I started doing stand-up and I would do the stand-up competitions locally in Minneapolis,” Lee said. “So I know those nerves of waking up in the morning and being like ‘How am I gonna do this,’ and the joy of going up and killing [it].” 

Lee said he enjoys getting to play a role in nurturing a new generation of comedic entertainers.

“I’ve been on showcases or competitions that were really important to me, but the host just doesn’t care and the show sucks and then I go home feeling lousy,” Lee said.

Being a comic, Lee said he feels for the young performers and always cheers them on.

“I was so happy that everybody did really well,” Lee said. “That’s all I care about.”

Lee said he loves getting to know the young comedians and forming bonds with them by “giving each other shit.” He also said he hopes Iowa State brings him back to host a third time.

Lee has seen some of the student comics develop for two years now, and he said he would love to return just to see how those same student comics are continuing to grow. He also wants to see who else pops up.

“I love [Iowa State] except for when the University of Minnesota plays you in a bowl game,” Lee said with a laugh.