No need to tell Diane Sherbahn ’90 that persistence pays off.

The shoulder-to-the-wheel work ethic that propelled her to earn an associate’s degree is the same dependability that helps sustain The Manchester Fund. It’s also landed Diane in an elite group: She has given to MU for 31 consecutive years and is one of 17 alumni donors who have given to MU every year since graduation.

Before Diane was a Manchester student, however, she was an employee — “the person behind the half door” in the Registrar’s Office from 1970 to 1987. She enjoyed working alongside Ruth Hauser and Registrar Robert Paine who, says Diane, “helped me learn the importance of keeping good data.” They were skills that helped Diane advance in 1987 to Manchester’s database manager, making sure the various databases on campus complemented each other and didn’t duplicate efforts.

“I had no official training,” reflects Diane on those early days of computers. “But I did have a lot of help and encouragement along the way.”

Diane could not have imagined working with computers when she graduated from high school in 1958. In those days, she says, many young women thought their choices were limited to nurse, teacher, secretary or mom. She chose mom, married her sweetheart, Bill, and started a family that by 1966 included three daughters and a son.

When Diane eventually entered the work force in 1970, Manchester was culture shock. “College was not my world at all,” she muses. But she bonded with her colleagues, embraced Manchester’s values and excelled at her work. She had a mentor, too, in Paine who encouraged her to earn a degree and achieve “a personal goal.” For years Diane worked full time, raised children, helped Bill on the family farm south of Bippus, Ind., and worked toward her business degree the only way she could — one course at a time.

In 1998, Diane left Manchester to provide training for a software company. After that, she worked for the University of Saint Francis for several more years before retiring.

Diane still supports Manchester every year. She is grateful that three of her four children, Deb Sherbahn ’82 Dearmin, Chris Sherbahn ’84 and Jill Sherbahn ’85 Robertson were able to earn Manchester degrees so affordably (daughter Emily DelReal is a Purdue graduate).

She is grateful, too, for her years at Manchester, the education she received and the good friends she made at the University. Adds Diane, “They’re all special people.”

By Melinda Lantz ’81

Alumni Who Have Given to MU Every Year Since Graduation

Randy and Sheila Brown (29)
Tim Ogden (29)
Diane Sherbahn (31—student while an employee)
Lori Heuer (18)
Kim Reinoehl (18)
Steve Knaus (16)
Christina Ellingwood (15)
Gary Heckman (22—student while an employee)
Monica Rice (12)
Greg Robison (10) 
Jennifer Coffman (7)
Olan Griffiths (3)
Josh Benefiel (3)
Elena Bohlander (3)
Rudy Rolle (3)
Hannah Schutter (2)