New scholarship will benefit UNE students committed to brain aneurysm awareness

Kris Winston, Jessica Heath, Mira Kurka Callahan and Elizabeth Francis-Connolly
³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ OT director Kris Winston, Karolina Kurka's best friend Jessica Heath and mother Mira Kurka Callahan and Dean Elizabeth Francis-Connolly

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 ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ. She was building a successful career when she suffered a sudden brain aneurysm and passed away at the age of 32. Three years later, another successful young woman, Karolina Kurka, who attended Scarborough schools and graduated from the University of New Hampshire, would suffer the same fate, dying from a brain aneurysm at age 27.

In honor of these two women, the ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ and the Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness Committee (MBAAC) are proud to announce the Maine Brain Aneurysm Awareness Scholarships. On Friday, December 16, 2016, Mira Kurka Callahan, mother of Karolina Kurka, presented a $1,000 check to ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ Westbrook College of Health Professions Dean Elizabeth Francis-Connolly.

One scholarship in Tudor’s name will be awarded to a third year undergraduate student. The other in Kurka’s name will be awarded to a third year graduate student studying Occupational Therapy. Both scholarships will seek to support students who have been impacted by brain aneurysm, engage in public outreach and awareness of brain aneurysms and/or work with that population through their area of study.

To learn more about the ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ’s Westbrook College of Health Professions visit

To apply, visit 

About the ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ

The ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.