Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" (also called "The Last Lecture"^[1]) was a lecture given by Carnegie Mellon University computer science professor Randy Pausch on September 18, 2007,^[2] that received widespread media coverage, and was the basis for The Last Lecture, a New York Times best-selling book co-authored with Wall Street Journal reporter Jeffrey Zaslow.^[3] Pausch had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006. On September 19, 2006, Pausch underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy to remove the malignant tumor from his pancreas.^[4] In August 2007, doctors discovered that the cancer had recurred. Pausch was given a terminal diagnosis and told to expect that three to six months of good health remained.^[5]

The lecture was upbeat and humorous, alternating between wisecracks, insights on computer science and engineering education, advice on building multi-disciplinary collaborations, working together with other people, offering inspirational life lessons, and performing push-ups on stage. Pausch commented on the irony that the "Last Lecture" series had recently been renamed "Journeys": "I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it."^[6] After Pausch finished his lecture, Steve Seabolt, on behalf of Electronic Arts, which was collaborating with CMU in the development of Alice 3.0,^[7] pledged to honor Pausch by creating a memorial scholarship for women in computer science,^[4] in recognition of Pausch's support and mentoring of women in CS and engineering.

Professor Pausch's "Last Lecture" has received attention and recognition both from American media and news sources worldwide.^[8] The video of the speech became an internet sensation, viewed over a million times within its first month on social networking sites such as YouTube, Google video, MySpace, and Facebook.^[9] Randy Pausch gave an abridged version of his speech on The Oprah Winfrey Show in October 2007.^[10] On April 9, 2008, the ABC network aired an hour-long Diane Sawyer feature on Pausch entitled "The Last Lecture: A Love Story For Your Life".^[11] Four days after his death from pancreatic cancer on July 25, 2008, ABC aired a tribute to Pausch, remembering his life and his famous lecture.^[12]