30 years ago today, a boy was born half a world away. I’m so glad, so lucky, that he found his way to a loving home in Rochester, NY, and eventually to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, PA, where we would meet as fellow students. Meet, and fall in love, and start a life together, without even realizing that that was what we were doing.

Here’s to 30 more years of loving and living — and 30 more after that.

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Of course, I wouldn’t have been at Carnegie Mellon in the first place if it weren’t for my dad. I never meant to follow in his footsteps, but looking back, it’s no wonder that I did. We’re a lot alike, and I’m grateful to have inherited his optimism, his steadiness, and his interest in people’s stories.

I can think of a hundred different ways that my dad has shaped me and my life — and I’m sure there are hundreds more I’ll never know.

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