Alumnus Honored by Parents’ Bequest
Ted P. Gerarden '65
My years at Notre Dame in the 1960s literally were life-altering. I came to the Hilltop as a timid and insecure freshman. I experienced respect (Religion with Brother Benjamin Sunday), hard work (English with Brother Joseph Zutelis), and challenge (Civics with Mr. Antonetti). My early academic struggles gave way to success as I learned how to study, write, and speak with confidence. Sports added another dimension to the ND experience, and I learned how a team can do great things together, including claiming the New England schoolboy swimming championship for Notre Dame in my junior year. By the time I was a senior, the transformation from timidity to confidence was complete.
The education I received at Notre Dame enabled me to go to Georgetown University, the first of many doors that the Brothers of the Holy Cross enabled me to open. My four years in the Holy Cross tradition at Notre Dame gave me the confidence, tools, and wisdom to take advantage of Georgetown's Jesuit education and, subsequently, of the opportunities that came my way in life.
Long before I realized it, my parents, Tony and Merle Gerarden, knew that Notre Dame had made a crucial difference for me. They wanted to create a legacy that would enable other young men to enjoy the remarkable opportunity that Notre Dame gave me. Their initial gift to the Loyalty and Endowment Fund, supplemented by a legacy in their wills, created the eponymous Scholarship. I have carried on with what they started, and it gives me great joy to know that the Scholarship is helping young men like Greg to transform their lives.
