Iowa State students brought the laughs to the Memorial Union this week as part of a final exam for the Honors “Comedy College” course.
The showcase, held in front of peers, faculty and community members, closed the semester with their mastery of stand-up comedy.
The comedy showcase featured individual stand-up sets, with students delivering relatable and humorous takes on university life, local life and more. Willem Potter, a senior studying industrial engineering, kept the energy in between sets with witty anecdotes and funny interactions.
As a part of the course’s final, the audience participated in a collective congratulations of “They passed!” after each comedian’s performance.
The first comedian, Thomas Brustkern, a senior in mechanical engineering, had a set with anecdotes about his time studying abroad in Spain and his experiences as a middle child. His set featured his recurring reference to “my time in Spain.”
Brustkern talked in his set about almost being kicked out of a private Catholic school for wearing casual attire and outrunning a security guard to claim his free study-abroad gifts.
“I’m stopped immediately by Lucia, and I thought we had a good thing going because she’d seen me come in late at 8 a.m. in sweatpants before,” Brustkern said. “I figured it was no biggie, but I was wrong. She stops me and goes, ‘Are you supposed to be here?’”
Performer Abby Larkin, a junior in biochemistry, shared a set that merged college life, academic struggles and quirky observations.
She discussed her experience as a Resident Advisor (RA) enforcing rules, including an encounter where a student evaded identification with a fake name.
“I was like, ‘What’s your name?’ He said, ‘I don’t have one,’’’ Larkin said. “It’s like, ‘no, but like, what’s your name?’ And he gave me a name. He gave me Jonathan Jefferson. Have you ever heard of anyone named Jonathan Jefferson?”
Larkin also dove into personal growth, sharing how failing an exam led to a renewed focus on mental health.
“It took a sledgehammer to my intellectual confidence, and I realized that I needed to develop my personality a little more because I’m not building off of being an academic weapon,” Larkin said.
Larkin shared moments about the pressures of college and balanced humor with vulnerability about therapy sessions.
“I didn’t go to therapy because of OChem but it was a catalyst… let it sink in a little bit,” Larkin said.
Reflecting on the night, Larkin discussed how she was prepared for the event.
“I prepared in class, writing on my own time, and with my friends,” Larkin said. “It’s just something to be proud of. I’m not naturally extraverted or a person that would talk on stage so it just felt good to do something that is normally scary.”
For more information on this course, visit this website.
