George Lopez’s humorous lecture entertains and educates
By: Caroline Antonio
A never-ending line curved around Wilkins Theater at Kean University on Monday night. An exciting chatter was heard throughout the line, which was slowly moving forward toward the entrance of the theater.
Kean University welcomed actor and comedian George Lopez to give a “humorous lecture” to students and staff. Lopez has been living in the spotlight for more than 25 years. With all those years of success in a difficult industry, could students at Kean retain some information from lecture that can help them for their own future?
However, a question that arose was what exactly is a “humorous lecture”
“The title explains it all; it will be a lecture that is intuitive and creative,” said Jonathan Yearwood Senior Vice President of Funding Groups in Student Organization.
Yearwood explained that the main reason Student Organization chose Lopez to come and speak at Kean was to honor National Hispanic Heritage Month, which began on Sept. 15 and will end on Oct. 15.
“He is a great inspiration and him coming at this time is just great timing,” Yearwood said.
At that night, as soon as Lopez stepped out into the spotlight, a mixture of applause, screams, and camera flashes filled the theater. While the cameras flashed, Lopez began to pose for the various photos that would soon end up on Instagram or FaceBook.
As Lopez went on with his lecture, he began to tell his life story and explained how throughout the years it was a difficult task to keep believing in himself.
One student was particularly surprised by the way Lopez had dressed that evening. “I was really surprised when he stepped out in casual clothes, instead of a suit,” said Jesse Grindell. “It made him more relatable to me.”
Lopez explained that he did bring a suit with him but decided not to wear it. He then called out an assistant to bring his suit onstage. Showing off the suit to the audience, Lopez said, “It’s Gucci,” bringing forth laughter from the audience.
“For 25 years I was a quitter, but one day I decided not to be and now I am here,” Lopez said.
The audience burst into applause as they took in what he had said. Throughout the show, the message that was passed through was that no matter how difficult things are, you must never give up. And of course, learn to laugh at the mistakes that have happened in your life.
Lopez would deviate from the lecture at times and go through old anecdotes about his grandmother, who he claimed was a racist. Every time that Lopez would speak of his grandmother, he would break down in laughter and promise the audience that they would be laughing by the end of his story. He also explained how Sandra Bullock was the one person who always believed in him, and then he went to speaking about one of his biggest inspirations, Richard Pryor.
Before the show on Monday night, students were wondering if they would be leaving the show with new knowledge. “A celebrity giving a lecture to Kean students is great,” Rosebriar Chelot, a Kean University student said. “A celebrity is usually someone most people look up to so hearing advice from someone we all watched on TV should have a great impact on us.”
If a student is a graduating senior at college or a sophomore in high school, the opportunity to learn from someone of success can always be found. For example, 15-year-old high school student Melissa Rojas was able to obtain a ticket for the lecture from a friend who attends Kean.
“I believe that I will learn something from the lecture and I also believe that it will be just like a comedy show,” Rojas excitedly explained. “I never have been to a humorous lecture so I am excited to experience it in my own way.”
By the end of the show, the audience was begging Lopez to continue with his speech. However, as time went on the show came to an end. When Lopez ended his lecture, he wished the audience a good night and received a standing ovation in return.