The Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness Committee was pleased to award $2,000 scholarships to four students at the KAT-Walk & Karo-5K for Brain Aneurysm Awareness on September 20, 2026.
Our congratulations to:
Dawn DeWeese-Moss (on right) is a 2nd year student in the Physician Assistant program at UNE and plans for a career in Neurological ICU. Dawn’s hometown of Pittsfield, Maine exposed her to two traumatic brain aneurysm experiences with the loss of fellow student 14-year old Nolan Berthelette to a ruptured brain aneurysm as well as her friend and former coach surviving a rupture. (Cheyanne Audet Scholarship)
Abbie Keenan (on right) is pursuing a dual bachelor’s degree in Occupational Studies and Nursing at UNE. She shared her mother’s experience (see below) of surviving a ruptured brain aneurysm, and through that experience, Abbie hopes to be a strong advocate for individuals with disabilities and chronic neurological changes. (Karolina Kurka Scholarship)
Dawson Postl (on left) is a 2nd year student in the Physician Assistant program at UNE with the goal of working in the trauma, emergency, or surgical oncology fields. Dawson’s best friend, Tony Pena, passed away from an aggressive malignant brain tumor in 2020 and this has led Dawson to dedicate his career to caring for patients and their loved ones during the dark times. (Jessica Heath Scholarship)
Margeurite Dallaire (on left) is enrolled in Tufts University School of Medicine’s Maine Track program which allows her to complete her first year in Boston and the next three years in Maine with the goal of becoming a physician of Internal Medicine or Neurology. We first met Maggie years ago after her dad, Dan suffered a brain aneurysm rupture and since then she and her family have come to many KAT-Walks and she helped host our booth at several UNE’s Brain Fairs as a young teenager. (Kimberly Tudor Scholarship)
These scholarships were established in memory of four young ladies from Maine that passed away from ruptured Brain Aneurysms or Brain Tumor: Kimberly Tudor was a graduate from UNE with a CNA certificate and BS in Sports & Fitness, Karolina Kurka graduated from UNH with a Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy, Cheyanne Audet received her BS in Nursing from the University of Maine, and Jessica K. Heath, Brain Aneurysm Awareness Committee member and tireless supporter of the National Brain Tumor Society.
“My mother experienced a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2018, just as I was about to begin my first year of high school in the small town of Blue Hill, Maine. I was the one who found my mom unconscious on the ground and had to call 911, an experience that reshaped not only my family’s life, but the entire beginning of my adolescence. She spent 32 days in the hospital at Maine Medical Center, most of them in ICU, fighting through complications, uncertainty, and the long process of relearning how to function. Although my mom is not the same person she was before the aneurysm, witnessing her resilience, and being part of her remarkable recovery from the very first moment, profoundly shaped my commitment to disability advocacy and patient-centered nursing. Her experience is the reason I chose this field, and it continues to guide the kind of clinician I hope to become.”
— Abbie Keenan (from her scholarship application)
We once again thank all those that participate & donate to the KAT-Walk & Karo-5K for Brain Aneurysm Awareness and for your continued support of our efforts to increase Brain Aneurysm Awareness, Education, and Research in Maine and northern New England.