Maple Batalia’s family marked 15 years since her death Monday by continuing a memorial endowment at SFU that supports students pursuing health-sciences careers.
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Maple Batalia’s family marked 15 years since her death Monday night by continuing a memorial endowment at SFU that supports students pursuing health-sciences careers.
Batalia, who was studying health sciences and dreamed of becoming a doctor, was shot and stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend as she left SFU’s Surrey campus on Sept. 28, 2011.
Her family later created the Maple Batalia Memorial Endowment, also described as a bursary, to help other young women pursue careers in health sciences.
Poonam Batalia, Maple’s niece, said the family has tried to turn grief into purpose by keeping Maple’s goals alive through education funding. She said Maple would have been proud of the work and would see the impact as proof that her life “wasn’t wasted.” She added that the loss remains hard to carry, including the moments Maple never got to experience.
The endowment has grown to just over $192,000 and has helped 30 students reach their academic goals, according to SFU Faculty of Health Sciences officials involved with the program.
Dr. David Bangsberg, dean of SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, said many recipients are daughters of first-generation immigrants. He said tuition and related costs can be overwhelming, and that having “a little help can help students focus on their studies and achieve their ambitions and have progress towards their career path.”
The fund is supported by community donations, contributions from the Batalia family and fundraising events such as Whisk Taker’s Oven, which sells a maple-flavoured cookie for $5 with proceeds going to the endowment. The family says the bursary helps ease the sadness of the loss by letting students benefit from the future Maple never got to have.
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