The Last Lecture: Chapter 11 Summary & Analysis

When Randy was eight, his family went on a cross-country trip to Disneyland, and Randy loved it. One of his dreams became to grow up to design rides that other kids like him could enjoy. When Randy graduated with his PhD from Carnegie Melon, he thought it made him “infinitely qualified to do anything,” so he applied to Walt Disney Imagineering, and got rejected. However, Randy kept his mantra in mind that “brick walls are there for a reason”—not to keep us out, but to “give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

Fast-forward years later, to 1995 when Randy is a professor at the University of Virginia. He builds a system called “Virtual Reality on Five Dollars a Day,” completing a low-budget V.R. system which is well ahead of its time. Not long after, Randy learns that Disney is working on an Aladdin Virtual Reality attraction. He calls Disney, explains his credentials, and keeps getting passed up the phone chain until he gets in touch with Jon Snoddy, the Imagineer running the Aladdin project. After talking, Randy tells Jon Snoddy that he is going to be in California for work, and, if possible, he’d like to get together. The truth is, however, that Randy is only going to go to California to see Jon.

Jon Snoddy agrees to get lunch with Randy, and before going to the meeting, Randy does 80 hours of homework about the Aladdin project. When they meet, Jon is wowed by Randy’s preparation. At the end of the lunch, Randy explains that he has a sabbatical coming up, and Jon Snoddy thinks it’d be a good idea to have Randy become a temporary member of his team for six months and write a paper about the experience. The only problem—Randy needs permission from his bosses at the University. As Randy says, “every Disney story needs a villain,” and his villain is a tough dean at Virginia nicknamed “Dean Wormer”. “Wormer” is concerned that Disney will steal all of Randy’s “intellectual property,” and therefore doesn’t think Randy should work there. “Dean Wormer” is proof that “sometimes, the most impenetrable brick walls are made of flesh.”

So, Randy takes his case to another dean, the Dean of Sponsored Research, and when Randy asks if he thinks it’s a good idea, the Dean says he doesn’t have enough information to say, but he does know that one of his “star faculty members is in my office and he’s really excited.” So he asks Randy to tell him more. Randy notes how differently these two deans reacted—they both said the same thing, that they were unsure—but the way in which they said it was totally different. In the end, Randy is allowed to go, and he achieves his dream of working for Disney Imagineering. On his drive to the headquarters for the first time, Randy blasts The Lion King music from his car speakers and actually breaks down into tears for having achieved his eight-year-old dream.