Through laughter, cheer, applause and tears, comedian Ernesto Tomas Gritzewsky, or “Ernie G.“, entertained and appealed to many Wenatchee High School students at an assembly on Feb. 20 in the auditorium.

Ernie G. had previously entertained a crowd at Eastern Washington University, and after junior Shantel Zotelo watched his performance there, she knew he had to visit WHS.

“She emailed me saying my performance [at EWU] changed her life; she is now going to be the first person in her family to graduate from college. She said I had to come speak at Wenatchee, she’s been trying for two years to get me here and we finally made it happen,” Ernie G. said.

Ernie G. is from Los Angeles and can be seen in many Latino TV programs such as Las Chicas Project on MTV3, Habla on HBO, and Que Locos, a comedy show hosted by comedian George Lopez. Ernie G. recently spoke at the University of California Los Angeles during their Raza Graduation for Latino Americans.

Compiled with jokes and unforgettable quotes, Ernie G. also shared with students that it wasn’t easy getting to where he is today, but that trying hard and graduating from college is worth it. His difficult but rewarding journey inspired him speak to students and motivate them to believe that they can do it: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”

“When I got kicked out of Loyola Marymount University, I was devastated and depressed. I came home one day from work and turned on the TV. A motivational speaker was on TV and I’d never heard of him, and he said things that really spoke into my soul. He said that ‘Life is full of ups and downs, so when I get knocked down I pray I land on my back because if I can look up I can get up.’ I got really motivated, and because of [Les Brown] I said I wanted to do what he did and motivate other people they way he motivated me,” Ernie G. said.

Ernie shared that comedy is not motivation, it’s just telling jokes, so he tried to incorporate motivation into comedy and was scolded by his comedian colleagues. They told him that people come to comedy to forget about their life, but that Ernie G. was making people think about their lives.

“For the next 10 years I just focused on being funny with no motivational stuff. After eight or nine years, I realized I really wanted to inspire people. That’s where the empowerment comedian ‘Ernie G.’ was born,” Ernie G. said.

Apart from speaking to the student body as a whole, after his performance Ernie G. spent the rest of his day talking to students who related to his story, and greeting everyone with a smile and an introduction. Ernie G. provided students with many inspiring quotes, with his favorite being, “I’m proud of the fact that I’m a beautiful, educated Latino man who has a little ghetto in him.”