Title:A Good Laugh

There’s nothing better than a good laugh—especially for a good cause.

That’s what prompted three noted Hoya comedians—Jim Gaffigan (B’88), John Mulaney (C’04), and Mike Birbiglia (C’00)—to share their special brand of humor at a fundraising event in January.

Stand Up for Georgetown, held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, raised more than $1 million for the Georgetown Scholars Program. The show sold out quickly.

“The event was Jim’s idea,” says Michelle Mauboussin (B’86), one of the evening’s volunteer organizers and GSP advisory-board chair. “He was very invested in making this a fantastic show,” she adds, noting that Gaffigan personally recruited Mulaney and Birbiglia to join him.

Emily Chen Carrera (B’88), another lead event volunteer, says that Gaffigan was motivated by the GSP’s support of first-generation college students like his father, Michael (F’57). “Jim wanted to highlight the cause and also have fun.”

The Georgetown Scholars Program, founded in 2004, provides resources and support for more than 600 undergraduates a year from all socioeconomic backgrounds, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college.

At the stand-up event, each comedian laced his set with Georgetown stories, making the show especially meaningful to the Hoya audience. Gaffigan shared that his first time performing was at Georgetown Cabaret in his senior year. The Exorcist stairs provided dramatic tension to a Mulaney joke. And Birbiglia related a story about calling Gaffigan for career advice—after discovering that he was the only graduate in the alumni directory with “comedian” listed as occupation.