In a garden next to the Mad Tea Party in the Magic Kingdom, you will find a unique sign.  Inscribed on the sign are the following words:

Be good at something; it makes you Valuable...Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome.
- Randy Pausch

This sign is part of the tribute that Disney World has created in memory of Dr. Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon Professor who is most widely known for his "Last Lecture."

Disney's connection to Dr. Pausch is that he was actually a Disney Imagineer for a period starting around 1995 as he took a sabbatical from his teaching at Carnegie Mellon to fulfill a lifelong dream.  He served in the Disney Imagineering Virtual Reality Studio.  After he completed his sabatical he continued the relationship with Disney and provided students for the Imagineering Intern program and served occasionally as a consultant.

The PR Newswire had this quote from Bob Iger regarding Randy Pausch shortly after his death:

"Randy Pausch lived his life inspiring his students, colleagues and co-workers. Now, the vitality and energy he brought to his classroom lives on and serves as an inspiration to millions of people he never had the chance to meet," said Disney President and CEO Bob Iger. "We are proud to honor Randy's passion by supporting the innovators and dreamers of tomorrow with these fellowships."

The Mad Tea Party was chosen as the location for this sign because Randy had a picture of his niece and nephew enjoying this ride on his desk.

In addition to being remembered through this unique sign, Disney has also created the Disney Memorial Pausch Fellowship at Carnegie Mellon which will support two graduate students, one in the School of Computer Science and one in the College of Fine Arts.  This mixture of Computer Science and Fine Arts mimicked Pausch's passion for the combination of the two disciplines.

His determined interest in the benefits of having these two areas work together led to the development of Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center.  The Center has artists and technologists working together creating projects that entertain, inform, inspire, or otherwise affect audiences.

Randy Pausch Continues To Inspire
Randy Pausch inspired people long before his famous Last Lecture.  Disney has done well in choosing to uniquely honor him with this sign in the Magic Kingdom.
 
 "Be good at something; it makes you Valuable...Have something to bring to the table, because that will make you more welcome."