How One Bad Play Fueled 46 Years Together and Bright Future for Scholars

It Started with a Bad Play

For nearly 46 years, Robb Petersen and Mark E. McNeil built a life together.

They met in 1977 after attending the same play in Seattle. Neither knew the other, but Robb had noticed Mark in the audience. After the performance, both ended up at a nearby bar.

“I sent him a drink,” Robb recalled. “On the napkin I wrote, ‘What did you think of the play?’ He looked over at me and gave me a big thumbs down.”

The play may have been terrible, but the introduction worked.

“We saw each other every weekend after that.”

Over the next four and a half decades, the two built a life together.

Call to the Stage: A Career Shift

Mark was burnt out, he began asking himself bigger questions about purpose and fulfillment.

“He got to a point where he started wondering, ‘What’s it all about? What am I doing?'”

Mark returned to school, earned his master’s degree in counseling, and became a licensed mental health counselor. For more than two decades, he worked as a counselor in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, choosing to serve a community where he knew he was needed most.

“He really wanted to work with people who were disadvantaged, unhoused, and impacted by HIV/AIDS,” Robb said. “He wanted to be where he could make a difference.”

Education had transformed Mark’s life, just as it had shaped Robb’s own journey.

Both were among the first in their extended families to pursue higher education, carving paths that hadn’t existed before them. Robb went on to become a psychologist, working in schools and later supporting veterans returning from war zones.

“Education was really super important to both of us,” he said.

It was about the possibility that education provided for them. The belief that learning could open doors, change lives, and create a future that once felt out of reach.

When the Curtain Falls

When Mark passed away on October 23, 2023, after a battle with prostate cancer, Robb found himself facing a question familiar to anyone navigating grief: How do you hold onto someone you love?

For a time, the answer was simple. You don’t let go.

“When you lose somebody after 46 years, I just couldn’t get rid of anything.”

Among the things Mark left behind was a treasured collection of books from The Folio Society, known for producing beautifully crafted editions of literary classics.

Robb initially struggled with what to do with them. Then an idea emerged.

After a good run of eBay digging, Robb discovered the books Mark had been collecting held significant value. Little by little, the collection became something unexpected: the foundation for a named scholarship fund in Mark’s honor.

Enter Stage Right: Mark E. McNeil Memorial Graduate Scholarship

A scholarship designed to support graduate students, filling a gap Robb recognized within the broader educational landscape. He saw that while many programs focus on helping students begin their college journeys, far fewer resources exist for those continuing into advanced degrees, especially in fields like counseling, where additional education is essential but often financially out of reach.

“We’re thinking about students all the way through their careers,” he said. “Graduate education is a need that hasn’t always been met.”

His connection to GSBA stretches back decades. As a psychologist working with high school students, Robb often saw LGBTQ+ youth facing barriers to education long before many support systems existed.

“I’d see students who had no pathway to financial aid,” he said. “GSBA was the place to support these kids.”

Over the years, he remained a donor, supporter, volunteer, and advocate. When the time came to create a scholarship in Mark’s name, GSBA felt like the natural home for it.

“GSBA is where I belong,” he said. “It’s where my money belongs. There really isn’t anything other than GSBA in this arena.”

GSBA supports students throughout their entire academic journey, not just their pursuit of a degree. In addition to tuition assistance, scholars receive wraparound support such as food assistance, transportation aid, gender-affirming health care, study abroad opportunities, and laptop repair, just to name a few.

“It’s one thing to give the money,” Robb said. “It’s another to have the support systems GSBA provides.”

A Scholar Takes Center Stage

Robb recently had the opportunity to reconnect with Joey, the first recipient of the Mark E. McNeil scholarship.

Now completing his practicum work, Joey is preparing to enter the field as a therapist, following a path that closely mirrors Mark’s own journey into counseling later in life.

“There was something really synchronistic about the alignment of their paths,” Robb said.

Seeing Joey’s progress brought the purpose of the scholarship into sharper focus.

“He’s going to be a hell of a therapist.”

For Robb, helping people pursue the futures they imagine for themselves is a way to carry forward what mattered most to Mark. It supports people who feel called to this work and helps them become the kind of presence others can rely on in their communities.

A Standing Ovation

When asked what Mark would think of having a scholarship carry his name, Robb smiled.

“He never really liked recognition,” he said. “He always wanted to recognize others.”

After a pause, he added:

“But I think he would be honored.”