Comedian Andy Erikson helped bring in the new semester with a laugh by providing stories and jokes to the students of UW Oshkosh last Thursday night.

Erikson, originally from Ham Lake, Minnesota, has competed in several comedy competitions including the Last Comic Standing competition in 2015 where she placed third.

Although Erikson became well-known through Last Comic Standing, she said she tried out for the show several years earlier.

“I tried out for Last Comic Standing back in 2007, and I ended up not making it on the show, but I still wanted to be on the show,” Erikson said.

Erikson has been performing on college campuses for three years and does around 10 performances a year at universities, with UWO being her first show in 2018.

Erikson said her favorite part about performing for college students is their attitude and excitement as well as being able to relieve stress for a short time.

“For many students, the first time they see a live comedy show is at their college and I like being the first comedian they see live,” Erikson said. “I love having fun and being silly and helping students take their minds off the stresses of tests and homework, too.”

Erikson said when she was in college she went to comedy shows to help relax, and she likes to help students relax through her routines.

“If you need a break from your homework, I feel like laughter is the best thing to kind of chill out,” Erikson said. “I remember always seeing comedians when I was in college, too.”

Erickson said the atmosphere at UWO was great and she would like to come back for another performance.

“I love being silly with everyone, and I love as the show went on I connected more and more and got people out of their shells a little bit,” Erikson said. “I also loved all the cat and dog pictures people showed me.”

Throughout the show, Erikson got loud laughter from jokes about people who left the show early, Twitter lists and her sheep bit, which she is best known for.

Junior Sarah Mikos was seeing Erikson for the first time and enjoyed every bit of the show but said she liked the bit about Twitter lists the most.

“I thought she was very funny,” Mickos said. “There were so many good jokes. I’d see her again.”

Senior Gina Delelio said she was familiar with Erikson, but this was the first time she had seen any of her acts and she would see her again.

“The show was very funny,” Delelio said. “‘Everybody who leaves hates babies’ was my favorite bit.”

Sophomore Leng Yang said he had heard of Erikson through the recommended section on YouTube as well as Last Comic Standing and said he enjoyed every bit of her show.

“Even though there wasn’t that much people, I would’ve recommended to have the seats filled,” Yang said. “It was kind of sad not a lot of people actually came here.”

Yang said he hopes to have Erikson back again with a bigger crowd later in the semester.

“As long as it’s a little bit longer and people are down because of exams and then they just need laughs to boost their moods, that’ll promote the show very well,” Yang said.

Fans of Erikson, or people interested in her work, can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @andyerikson.