The Dream

If I had to choose a single directive to pursue for the rest of my life, it would most certainly be the above. The desire to improve our world is why I initially decided to pursue engineering and psychology, and now wish to go into location-based entertainment. I have always believed engineering to be a field in which we strive to solve the world's most pressing problems, psychology to be a science in which we learn to understand each other, and entertainment to be a space in which we can cultivate enjoyment in each aspect of our lives. Ultimately, I hope that whatever work I do has a tangible impact for the better; I hope that what I create brings joy to others.

Randy Pausch, famous for The Last Lecture, was a Carnegie Mellon professor famous for his encouragement of cross-disciplinary studies. Pausch was also known for giving out "First Penguin" awards, an annual honor which was bestowed upon his student with the most wonderful failure. He encouraged his students to be unafraid of failure, since out of failures come some of the most brilliant innovations. It is my goal to be unafraid to fail trying new things, so long as I am able to learn and improve from them. I believe failure is the best way to learn, and while I do not intend to be a student my entire life, I certainly will be learning my entire life.

For a recording of Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture, see here. I also highly recommend his book by the same name.

The animated film Meet the Robinsons ends with a quote attributed to Walt Disney: "We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." While Walt specifically spoke in reference to WED's "Imagineering," I believe that the same mantra can be applied to all forms of innovation and design. Curiosity motivates ideation, and perseverance fosters success. I believe that our ultimate challenge as inventors, designers, and entertainers should be to constantly push the bounds of quality and excellence - never to rest on our laurels or become complacent with mediocrity.