In Surrey, a community honors Maple Batalia’s memory 15 years after her tragic passing. Maple, a bright young student pursuing a career in health sciences, was fatally shot and stabbed by her ex-boyfriend outside SFU campus on Sept. 28, 2011.
Despite the immense grief, Maple’s family has transformed their sorrow into a meaningful cause. Her niece, Poonam Batalia, speaks of how they are keeping Maple’s aspirations alive by supporting other young women in pursuing their dreams in health sciences. The family established a bursary in Maple’s name, which has grown to over $192,000 and has aided 30 students in achieving their academic goals.
The generosity of the community, along with fundraising efforts such as the sale of a maple-flavored cookie, has contributed to this endowment fund. Dr. David Bangsberg, dean of SFU’s Faculty of Health Sciences, highlights how this support has helped students, particularly those facing financial challenges, to focus on their studies and advance towards their career goals.
In honoring Maple’s legacy, her family finds solace in seeing other students benefit from the opportunities she was unable to pursue. Poonam fondly remembers Maple as a compassionate soul and expresses the ongoing pain of not witnessing her achieve milestones like marriage and starting a family.
