Kent State students taking a class about Will Ferrell received a motivating message from the comedian himself encouraging them to end the semester on a high note.

“And if you don’t follow through with giving your fullest effort, you’re not only letting down yourselves, your parents, your God, and your country but you’re letting me down,” the funnyman said in a voicemail he left the class’s professor, Ron Russo, last Friday.

“And I’ll know, I’ll know, I’ll be watching you,” Ferrell continued, “you’ll…you’ll feel a presence. You’ll feel a cool breath on your neck if you’re not doing the work. All right?”

Russo, who teaches the special topics Will Ferrell class, said he asked the Anchorman actor to send his students a message as the semester winds down to cap off the class.

He said Ferrell has been supportive of the class, which studies the comedian’s body of work. The course is the first of its kind offered at any university nationwide.

“Any time we ask for something, he is always really nice,” said Russo, who also teaches the special topics Adam Sandler class and Adult Swim class. “He could go to any college he wants like USC (University of Southern California) where he graduated from, but we’re the only one with his class.”

Russo, who has been teaching at Kent State for 18 years, has offered the the Will Ferrell special topics class the past two fall semesters, as well as a smaller class during the summer. 

Russo could not release the voicemail because he is only allowed to use it for educational reasons. However, he said he would like to have the comedian come to campus to talk to his class in the future.

Contact Madeleine Winer at [email protected].