Tom Jerardi Math Scholarship at Howard Community College

We are using GoFundMe in hopes of raising money to have a scholarship in Tom's name at Howard Community College. The Scholarship would be an unrestricted need-based grant given each year to a student studying math.

Our dad used his math talents to work on satellites and space missions at the Applied Physics Laboratory for his whole career. But after he retired, he was much too antsy to sit around reading books or playing around with his various electronics and homemade radio equipment. Thus he began teaching Calculus at Howard Community College, a two-year college minutes from our childhood home that makes higher education more accessible for many. He loved mentoring young students, especially those less represented in math and engineering, often writing recommendation letters to secure them scholarships for future study. During his life, he was a tireless advocate for math education and educational equity, sitting on committees to choose textbooks and update math curricula in Howard County. He would bend the ear of anyone who would listen about the need to increase school funding to provide more holistic support for academically struggling students.

We hope this scholarship can honor his legacy for years to come, as a small effort to increase access to higher education in Howard County and to contribute to efforts to fight for greater equity in education.