The honors program, Comedy College, is hosting its end-of-the-semester showcase Monday night and Wednesday.

“The honors program definitely took a big risk with adding Comedy College,” said Gavin Jerome, Comedy College instructor.

The honors program approached economics professor Peter Orazem about a comedy course. Orazem had been a student of Jerome’s in Des Moines.

Jerome began teaching the course as an honors seminar about a year ago after teaching it to the general public for more than 20 years.

“They are some really progressive thinkers over in the honors building. To even have the courage to come to Peter and then to me about teaching comedy … it’s really something,” Jerome said.

The honors program could see the value of the course beyond just telling jokes, Jerome said.

“You’re allowed to be more creative in [Comedy College],” said Rachel Reyes, freshman in math. “I also absolutely hate public speaking, but it’s different here.”

Confidence is something that Comedy College offers that a normal class might not.

“I had a student last year who, at the beginning of the class when we were introducing ourselves, couldn’t even say his name in front of the class,” Jerome said. “By the end of it, he was in front of the class killing it with his jokes. This class gives students confidence and the honors program gets that.”

The class helps students with confidence, both personal and professional.

“One student told me that before Comedy College, he got no interviews at the career fair. After the class, he got five,” Jerome said. “Coming off confident and relaxed is the difference between that.”

The jokes the students learn to create is also useful.

“It’s a really unique skill to learn, a really valuable skill, honestly,” said Jamie Steyer, freshman in journalism. “Being able to inject humor is definitely a benefit in the workplace.”

Steyer plans to use humor as a broadcast journalist and Lizzy Doebel, senior in mathematics, plans to use it in teaching.

“I want to teach high school math. It will be useful to have humor,” Doebel said. “I took this class because I wanted to be funnier.”

Jerome sees that his students want to carry the comedy with them off into the world and he loves it.

“We as a society are becoming too serious, too politically correct,” Jerome said. “Comedy has the power to change thought and can be really powerful satire.”

Students are taught to build jokes by looking for humor in anything.

“Gavin and Peter have taught us to find humor, or about finding a punch-line in any situation,” Doebel said.

Doebel, Reyes and Steyer used the humor they found in their everyday lives for their upcoming Comedy College Showcase. The class has prepared them for their performances at the Maintenance Shop.

Jerome and Orazem are able to give useful suggestions for each individual student as they get to know the students personality.

“You have your own sense of humor,” Steyer said. “They know that and they say, ‘Hey, what if you went in this direction?’ They really get to know your sense of humor.”

Steyer and Doebel with both perform at the Monday show. Reyes will perform at the Wednesday show.

The Comedy College showcase runs two nights this week: 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday. Both showings are located at the Maintenance Shop in the Memorial Union.