Dan T. May Memorial Fellowship

This narrative is actually two stories melded into one. The first is the account of an unusual 60-year friendship between two women whose lives took them in different directions professionally but who remained friends. Sarah Heath ’70 and Marcia Trombold grew up in Burbank and became friends in the fourth grade. California was “home” for both, although Sarah traveled far and wide as a private citizen and as a Peace Corps volunteer. In her travels she developed a love of South Africa, and so her first attempt to create a scholarship at CLU focused on recruiting students from that country. She eventually revised criteria for the scholarship that bore her name.

The second story came into being with the death of Marcia’s 24-year-old son, Danny. Danny was born in Pensacola, Florida, but grew up in the San Diego area. In Marcia’s words, “Danny was an intelligent, talented boy, excelling in academics and sports until around the age of 16 when he discovered drugs.” Despite several attempts at rehabilitation and the helpful efforts of friends and family, Danny was unable to regain sobriety. He died in April 1990.

Because of her close relationship with Marcia, Sarah mourned by her side and searched for a way to lessen her friend’s grief. Sarah had long been associated with CLU, having earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology on campus. At one time she worked as CLU’s vice president for development, and she also served on CLU’s board of regents. In December 1990 Sarah initiated the Dan T. May Memorial Scholarship as a scholarship that would be annually funded and awarded to an undergraduate psychology major intending to enter the field of substance abuse counseling.

But there is second chapter to this story. Although Sarah had taken the first step in creating the tribute to Danny, Marcia soon found comfort in honoring him by making her own gifts to the scholarship fund on the anniversary of his birthday and at Christmas. Sarah also continued her financial support, and in 1996 the fund reached the level required for endowment.

In 2002 another change occurred when Sarah made the decision to combine the funds in the scholarship bearing her name with those in Danny’s scholarship. At that the name was changed to the Dan T. May Memorial Fellowship and the award was designated for a graduate student in CLU’s master’s program in counseling psychology who was preparing to go into substance abuse counseling. With CLU’s increased emphasis on graduate programs, the timing was perfect.

This story is longer than most, but the end of the story is gratifying. A young life was honored and a long-time friendship nourished. Many lives will be changed because of the focus of this award.