The Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness Committee is pleased to announce the availability of four Scholarships to Undergraduate Students attending an accredited Maine institution pursuing a degree in Nursing (ADN or BSN) or Graduate Students attending an accredited Maine institution pursuing a degree in PT (DPT), OT (MS OT), or PA (MS).
The scholarships seek to support students who have been impacted by brain aneurysm or brain tumor, engage in public outreach and awareness of brain aneurysms or brain tumor, and/or work with that population through their area of study.
These four individual $2,000 scholarships are in memory of four young ladies who passed away from a brain aneurysm rupture or a brain tumor:
Kim Tudor was a bright student-athlete, graduating as class salutatorian from Deering High School and going on to earn her CNA certificate and bachelor’s degree from the University of New England. She was building a successful career when she suffered a sudden brain aneurysm and passed away at the age of 32 in 2008.
Three years later, another successful young woman, Karolina Kurka, who attended Scarborough schools and graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy, would suffer the same fate, dying from a brain aneurysm at age 27.
Cheyanne Audet, a young mother of three, graduated from the University of Maine at Fort Kent with a degree in nursing and was employed as a Certified Wound Specialist at Central Maine Medical Center when she passed away from a brain aneurysm in 2011, at age 30.
Jessica Heath was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2012 after she self-advocated for an MRI, as a result of the death of her closest friend, Karolina Kurka. Jess was a young mother of two and worked tirelessly in support of the National Brain Tumor Society and Brain Aneurysm Awareness until the cancer took her life in January of 2019, at age 34.
In 2009, Tudor’s family and friends organized and held their first annual walk in Kim’s honor. Karolina’s family joined the memorial walk after her death, as did the families of Cheyanne and Jessica. The KAT-Walk and Karo-5K for Brain Aneurysm Awareness is held annually in September in Portland and has grown to embrace many families affected by brain aneurysms, creating awareness, honoring survivors and remembering those lost to this silent killer.
Scholarship dates:
- Deadline for submission: July 21, 2025
- Notification to recipients: August 21, 2025
- Scholarship Awards: September 21, 2025