Much of my recent study has involved the history
of Carnegie Mellon University’s Entertainment Technology Center (ETC). While
the ETC is famous for being a top notch program for those looking to enter the
entertainment industry, it is also famous for another reason: Randy Pausch. Randy
co-founded the ETC and passed away shortly after of pancreatic cancer. Hundreds
of thousands of people all over the world have been transformed by Randy and
his famous “Last Lecture.” I watched Randy’s speech for the first time as an
undergrad at WVU. At the time, I remember thinking, “Wow, what a great speaker.
What a shame he passed away,” and then I carried on with my life. I did not really think about his words or the impact they had on the
world.After having a good grasp of the ETC and why it is such an amazing place, I decided to watch the Last Lecture again. I was much more emotionally involved this second time around. When Randy pulled his wife on stage to have a crowd of 400+ people sing her happy birthday, I was truly touched. I also possess a better understanding of the ETC characteristic Randy discussed: the Building Virtual Worlds (BVW) class, Randy’s co-chair at the ETC, Don Marinelli, and Randy’s successor to teach BVW, Jesse Schell. It was special to know more about these topics. It makes me appreciate how awesome it must have been to be in the room with Randy during his Last Lecture.
The book form of The Last Lecture written by Randy Pausch
and Jeff Zaslow not only reiterates the points that Randy touched on in his
lecture, but expands upon these points and details the events leading up to
Randy’s speech. Randy’s book is a short read filled with many golden nuggets. His book could be read as a daily devotional; in fact, I recommend reading it in that way.
There is one part in the book that had my eyes watering. It is revealed when Randy
brings his wife, Jai, on stage, she whispers in his ear “please don’t die” while they hug. Randy then fights back
tears and hurries to finish the rest of his speech. That is one of the saddest
things I have ever read and touches upon one of the messages in Don Marinelli’s
book, love. The love and strength Jai showed during the
end of Randy’s days while supporting him and their three kids was amazing. Randy’s
love for his family to make sure that every detail was taken care of before he
passed away was beautiful. He even made a point of selling their home and
buying one closer to Jai’s family so they could have a support system after he
was gone.
The last Lecture is an emotional read. Take your time with it and soak up the good advice.If you haven't already, listen to Randy's talk here.
