Sofia Javed, a Niles West alum, is returning to Skokie from the Chicago comedy scene with a comedy show about being a brown girl growing up in America. Javed will perform an original piece, “Latchkey Larki,” at the Skokie Public Library at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 22

Javed’s upcoming performance introduces audiences to humor rooted in real-life experiences through storytelling. For many comedians, the path to the stage begins with open mics or improv classes. For Javed, it began spontaneously when she was searching for her “ice cream sundae,” after years working in journalism, the Peace Corps and the U.S. State Department.

“Nothing in my life has been like a planned journey,” Javed said. “It’s all been circumstantial.”

In high school, Javed explored a wide range of interests, like theater, orchestra, debate and the school newspaper. She learned she had a love for journalism, and after graduating from West, she enrolled at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. While in college, Javed completed multiple internships and traveled abroad. One summer, she worked in Jerusalem for Reuters, an experience that exposed her to international reporting early in her career. She later studied in Morocco and worked for a Kentucky newspaper, all while studying at Northwestern and contributing to The Daily Northwestern. 

At the time, journalism, especially for first-year outs, didn’t pay well, and job opportunities were limited, even in Chicago. 

“You take out all these loans at a fancy private university and then realize entry-level reporter salaries are really low, and getting a successful career is reserved for the kids with connections,” Javed said. 

As graduation approached, inspired by a former West teacher who had served overseas, she applied to the Peace Corps. David Klingenberger, a now-retired English teacher and school newspaper adviser at West, had previously served in the Peace Corps in Sierra Leone, and he gave a presentation about his work abroad.

“Some see it as a noble move, but I was trying to run away a little bit,” Javed said.

Javed was deployed to Uzbekistan in 2001, and her job was to teach English to a rural village. She spent two years there, adapting to a simple way of living and immersing herself in the culture. While she was in Uzbekistan, she learned multiple languages and can proficiently speak eight today. 

“It was an intense experience. I wasn’t good at teaching English; I was better at learning their languages, and I’d kinda just hang out with everyone,” Javed said. “I picked up four languages while I was there.”

When she returned to the United States after completing her Peace Corps service in late 2004, Javed faced another turning point. Journalism had shifted dramatically toward digital media, a field she hadn’t learned in school and had also missed out on because she had been away from home in a rural area for two years. 

“While I was in that village, journalism was changing in big ways that my fancy education had not prepared me for,” Javed said. “In the early 2000s, all this new tech was developing, and I had no electricity. All my college friends were moving forward in their new work, and I didn’t have those skills; I just missed it.”

Not long after that service, Javed wanted to stay, so she asked around for opportunities. In response to events that had occurred globally, there was a need for an Uzbek interpreter again. This time on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. She interpreted for prisoners who were being kept there by the U.S.  for a year and today speaks on how she didn’t support that operation, but did her job to try and make the people who were being kept there feel seen.

After the operations were over, she went to graduate school at Notre Dame’s Joan B. Crock Institute for International Peace Studies.

“After I finished school, we were in another recession. It seems like every time I finish school, the economy is bad,” Javed said. “Just by chance, I got a job in a state department office for a 6-month contract and ended up living there for a dozen years or so. It paid well, so I took it and moved to D.C. I traveled extensively and worked on human rights and anti-trafficking projects in Central Asia and Pakistan. In 2016, I was back at the D.C. office working for the human rights bureau and then [U.S. Agency for Interiornational Development] USAID, helping people all over the world.”

However, over the years, her work became excessive and began to weigh on her. 

“Human rights work was not fun or comedic,” Javed said. “I worked doubles, then hopped on the phone to do D.C. work and meetings after a quick dinner and workout. The issues were heavy, and as a Pakistani woman myself, I realize how close I was to living that life if I weren’t born in America. It just hit me in a different way. When I’d hear horrific stories and even third-hand, they’d weigh on me.” 

In late 2016, she had decided that she wouldn’t do human rights work anymore due to emotional stress and health issues. At this point, she wanted a more relaxed day and find her “ice cream sundae.”

“I would tell people, I kinda just wanted to work in an ice cream shop. I wanna make big beautiful sundaes to make people smile,” Javed said. “My version of that ended up being going into big dark bar basements and telling stupid jokes to strangers and making them laugh, and it turns out I wasn’t half bad. There’s this moment that happens. The first time you make a room full of people laugh, like really just, belly laugh, it is the greatest feeling in the world, when you’ve brought joy to people, for just a moment. no matter if it’s 5 or 500 people, you’ll be hooked, and so I was.” 

In 2018, she made a small name for herself in D.C. by performing to audiences and slowly began incorporating workplace jargon and bureaucratic habits into her work. She used storytelling to talk about bureaucratic work. Many of her stories were hits, such as the one about Guantanamo Bay.

“My first sets were for every D.C. audience, and it was those office jokes, like, crushed for the D.C. audience,” Javed said. 

She then went on to perform at many national comedy festivals around the country, including Funny is Female, Neurotica Fest, and Omaha.

After COVID, she returned to the Chicago comedy scene. Much of Javed’s comedy now explores cultural expectations, family dynamics and identity as a South Asian American performer.

Sometimes comedy challenges traditional expectations within parts of the desi community. Since Javed doesn’t follow the typical life her family expected for her; she recalls her mom’s opinion being mainly uninterested. 

“‘There is that sentiment of like, whatever it is my daughter is doing is not like what she’s supposed to be doing,” Javed said. “Half my life, she just would tell people I’m a pharmacist.”

Nonetheless, her family enjoys her shows, and she and her brother even host a podcast together. She’s been able to perform for desi communities and give pieces on related topics that women and desi people enjoy. 

“People appreciate seeing representation and hearing stories they recognize,” Javed said. 

While opportunities for diverse comedians have grown, challenges remain, particularly for women in stand-up comedy. 

“There’s a huge misconception that women aren’t funny,” Javed said. “There are still men who come up to us after shows and say things to our faces like, ‘You know what? For a woman, you’re actually funny.’ It’s crazy that in 2026, we’re still saying these things, but we are.”

Javed and a coalition of comedians work together to combat the lack of space for female  comedians by creating a forum where women can uplift one another and give each other feedback.  

“It’s our response to that,” Javed said. “We call it a humor salon. We get snacks and sit around for a few hours…help each other with projects. The important thing is that you’ve got to not be in competition with each other.” 

While mainstream recognition remains a goal many comedians pursue, Javed sees success differently.

“One thing is like commercial success… If I get a Netflix special, everybody in my family will have to admit that I’m successful, finally,” Javed said. “Still, young women coming up to me after a show and saying, ‘I saw you six months ago, and I still remember this thing you said…’ that to me is like so heartwarming. That’s success.” 

Now, Javed returns to the community where her journey began and where she spent most of her time in high school–the Skokie Public Library. “Latchkey Larki” offers audiences not just stand-up comedy but also a story of Javed’s young life and a connection to her time growing up in Skokie between two cultures.