Alex Hammer Memorial Shuttle Scholarship

Established in 2017 by Helene Hammer, in memory of her late husband, Alex, who was Safety/Training Manager at Shuttle UM from December 1996-June 1998, this scholarship provides financial assistance to a deserving student Shuttle UM employee.

Alexander Theodore Hammer was born on July 31,1954 in North Miami, Florida and lived as a child in Miami Beach. At the age of 16, he met his future wife, Helene, who was 15 at that time. Since they lived seven miles apart, Alex enjoyed riding the MTA bus back and forth to Helene’s house. He really took a great interest in busses and became friends with the drivers, sometimes riding the entire route, before finally getting off the bus! He learned all about the operation of those busses.

After graduating from Miami Beach Senior High School, Alex attended Miami-Dade Jr. College and then University of Florida. He and Helene married in 1978, and relocated to Maryland in 1980. There, Helene taught Spanish and French and Alex held various jobs. Since he had not quite finished his studies at UF, he decided to enroll at University of Maryland. He needed a part time job and when he saw that he could actually drive a BUS for Shuttle-UM, he was ecstatic! He could do something he loved AND go to school, too!! Alex started working at Shuttle-UM in 1989. In May 1992 he graduated with a BS in Science Education and started teaching Earth Science in Middle School.

Alex and Helene had been traveling during the summer months in Europe, spending most of the time in Italy. This sparked an interest in studying the Italian Language, so the couple studied at the University in Perugia, Italy in 1995. Alex then decided to return to College Park to study Italian. From July 1994-December 1996 he was a trainer at Shuttle-UM and Safety/Training Manager from December 1996-June 1998. Alex received his B.A. in Italian Language and Culture in December 1997. During that time at Maryland, he was also a Phi Beta Kappan.

While at UMD, Alex developed an interest in computers, and after graduating, worked for a couple of Web hosting companies. The job he held at AT&T necessitated that he commute to Ashburn, VA from Crofton, MD. After a year of commuting, the couple moved to Virginia. But then, after experiencing the technology crash, Alex went back to his first love and worked for Fairfax County Public Schools, Virginia, as a driver for Special Education. He enjoyed helping solve his friends' computer problems so much, that he started his own computer business. After Helene retired in 2016, they decided to move to South America, where Alex passed away, at the age of 62, after a long illness.