David Nast, Jerry's only sibling, was born with severe cognitive disabilities that prevented him from pursuing advanced educational opportunities. Jerry remembers his brother for his outgoing personality. "When we would go out to a restaurant, he'd go up to the hostess, stick out his hand and say, 'Hi, I'm David Nast,'" says Jerry. "He would have been a great social director on a cruise ship. David was a wonderful outgoing guy, as friendly as could be."

The Nasts' grandmother had established a trust fund in case David needed further care than what was provided for him at River Gardens in New Braunfels, where he lived most of his adult life. Over time, the trust grew and remained untouched. When David passed away in 2021 at age 72, Jerry decided to use the money to make a gift in David's name as a way of honoring what could have been.

"David never had the opportunity to study something of interest to him. I wanted to support science or engineering - something that was a real intellectual stretch," says Jerry. After touring several laboratories at UT, Jerry decided to make a gift to Cockrell School of Engineering's Texas Inventionworks, a program that puts students in the role of innovators and challenges them to solve problems, develop products and ultimately launch ventures. "I knew we'd found the right home for our gift because I can barely understand what the heck these people are doing," he laughs.