My Journey with America
Daniel Resnick, March 19, 2009
4:30pm - Adamson Wing, 136A Baker Hall
Some lives are lived from the inside out, with dreams pushing their way to reality; others feel like they have been lived in the shadow of great national and international movements that pull individuals into their fields of force. My own life has been like that, more pulled than pushed, full of discoveries, and it has been a wonderfully rich and fulfilling experience.
The journey of life is a miracle, a blessing, an odyssey, and always a story. This story is mine, but it is also America’s. I grew up and lived my life here, even as I shared in the pull of Europe and then the wider world. Born in the trials of the great depression, my life choices multiplied with our victory in the Second World War and our powerful influence on the fate of other nations. I was prepared for my life by the study of languages and history, and by a sense that I inherited from my immigrant parents of living between two worlds. Opportunities opened for me as a child in the small birth cohort of the Great Depression and I rode the tides of our post-war history with a sense of privilege and gratitude for all that came my way.
In the moment of the great civil rights movement and the Vietnam War, I found my way to Carnegie Mellon, brought my family, and joined my own fortunes to that of an extraordinary institution. The story is not over, but I derive great satisfaction from knowing that, however long my own life, the great enterprise of growing and sharing knowledge will continue for generations to come.
Daniel Resnick is Emeritus Professor of History and Director, Center for the History of the University.
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