David and Shiela Blough have a long history of giving back to MSU. At 47 consecutive years, it’s as long as their marriage. One started with a dollar. The other with a dance.
It was winter 1968 when David first approached Shiela at a Shaw Hall student mixer. He had two questions: did she want to dance? And, did she like the Beatles? She said yes to both, and they’ve been together ever since.
At graduation the following spring, David was filling out the rental form for his cap and gown. He checked a box to direct $1 of his rental fee back to MSU as a gift, and they’ve been giving every year after.
“That first gift wasn’t much,” David says, “but that one dollar was enough to get us thinking about giving. We had such a good experience at MSU, and all these years later, it still feels like a part of our lives—it feels like part of our family.”