David H. and Erma Pearl Scholarship

Wishing to honor his parents for their steadfast encouragement and many sacrifices over the years, David Pearl and his wife Carol established the David H. and Erma Pearl Scholarship. Although neither of his parents graduated from high school, both made certain that David did and when his plans to enter the family laundry business were frustrated, his mother personally persuaded Salisbury’s dean of admissions to give David the opportunity to pursue a teaching degree despite his glaring lack of college preparatory classes and underwhelming grade point average. Largely because of his parents’ unyielding faith in him, David persevered and ultimately justified their support, achieving the Dean’s List as an upper classman and becoming the first person in the family to graduate from college. This scholarship will be awarded to a deserving student from Worcester County, Maryland who is enrolled in the Seidel School for Teacher Education and who embodies the same persistence and determination that were David’s legacy from his parents.