Scholarship investment returns life-long benefits

Rebecca Jones Mueller (left) has built a life-long relationship with scholarship donor Mrs. Charmaine LaShay. Harold (Danny) and Charmaine LaShay

Long-time UW-Fond du Lac supporter and scholarship donor Harold LaShay died Feb. 2, 2009. The campus community will miss his dedication and personal presence.

The scholarship provided the gift of education. The benefactors’ friendship made life truly rich.

Rebecca Jones Mueller was delighted to receive the UW-Fond du Lac Foundation LaShay Scholarship to support her studies in 1996-97. Eleven years later, she relishes her ongoing relationship with donors Charmaine and Harold (Danny) LaShay.

“I never realized how unique our relationship is,” Mueller said thoughtfully, recalling how the friendship began with a thank you note, grew into notes about classes and holiday cards, and blossomed at her graduation from UW-Oshkosh in 2001. “I was standing in a crowded gym, surrounded by hundreds of people, and I heard my name. I looked up to see Charmaine and Harold. I think it was at that moment I realized just how special our relationship was.”

The LaShays have since attended her wedding, baby shower, and numerous holiday gatherings. “They have come to everything I have ever invited them to, no matter how far,” Mueller marveled. Monthly correspondence cements their bond; Charmaine LaShay carries photos of the Mueller children like a proud grandmother.

“They are almost like grandparents,” Mueller said. “The relationship is special because Charmaine reciprocated. She wrote back. We have the same interests and values.”

Mueller’s time at UW-Fond du Lac provided considerable life enrichment in addition to the LaShays. She met her husband, John, while participating in campus activities. And, most importantly, she came into her own.

“I was so shy and reserved. Thank goodness my parents steered me to UW-Fond du Lac,” she said of the campus she initially dismissed as a “fall-back school.” While she was accepted at three four-year colleges, she enrolled at UW-Fond du Lac at her parents’ urging. Her time on campus included several student leadership roles and work study employment in the dean’s office.

“I totally thrived at UW-Fond du Lac,” she said. “I really felt part of the campus: I knew the staff and the teachers. It was a confidence booster. Then, I was ready for a bigger campus. I am such a big proponent of the campus, and I tell everyone.”