Over the last month, students of all ages have returned to classrooms and campuses across the country for the beginning of the 2024-25 school year. As these students dive into the fall term, we wanted to take the opportunity to introduce you to some of this year’s recipients of the 2024 Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund.
Established in 2019, the fund was created to support post-high school education for students whose lives have been impacted by ALS. Since its inception, we have awarded scholarships to more than 375 students nationwide who are pursuing an accredited college degree or vocational certificate, and we were proud to have awarded $120,000 in scholarships to 24 students for the 2024-25 school year.
“The financial burden of ALS is devastating to families, and kids are all too often collateral damage,” said Mark Calmes, former member of the ALS Association’s National Board of Trustees, and founder of the scholarship fund.
Mark and his family created the fund in honor of his late wife, Jane, who fought ALS for eight years and passed away in August 2017. “The disease forces many students to delay their education so they can pitch in as caregivers, while others lose the financial ability to attend school altogether. I’m very pleased the fund is able to help some of these students get back on the education path that was disrupted by ALS.”
Here’s a look at a few of this year’s scholarship recipients and what they plan to do with the support they have received:
Liz Kameen was only 9 when her dad was diagnosed with ALS and she helped care for him during his journey. He passed away when she was 16. She is currently a junior at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, pursing a political science and English double major with a pre-law concentration. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys hiking and outdoor photography, reading and writing poetry, and making jewelry.
“ALS took a significant financial toll on my family; my mother had to stop working to help take care of my father following his medical retirement, so I often had to help with paying bills and continue to do so,” Liz said. “There have been multiple points where my mother and I were unsure if it was even financially possible for me to continue schooling, so the Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship has genuinely been a make-or-break factor in my being able to continue funding my education, and I cannot thank everyone involved in the process enough for helping students like me.”
Natalie Vilchek was 17 years old and a junior in high school when her mom was diagnosed with ALS. She passed away just 4 years later at the age of 51. Natalie is a senior at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, majoring in marketing and professional sales with a minor in finance. She is also captain of the soccer team, and to give back the team will hold an ALS Awareness game this fall with all funds raised donated to the fight to end ALS.
“When my mother started getting worse, my dad retired to take care of her. Financially we were always trying to make ends meet. After my mom’s passing, my dad is still retired and our finances have struggled,” Natalie said. “I worked during the summer, and would have to help my father pay certain bills. With this scholarship money, I am able to go to college and have some more financial stability during these semesters. I am able to afford my books, tuition, and other college necessities with this scholarship.”
Sara Neva’s dad was diagnosed with ALS when she was 4 years old. One of his first realizations that something was wrong was when he was lifting her out of her car seat. She is now a freshman at Northern Michigan University where she is studying dance. Away from her studies she enjoys teaching dance to children and working at a summer program with elementary school students.
“I have a passion for dance as it has been such an important way for me to express myself artistically,” Sara said. “I am also hoping to study elementary education.”
For students impacted by ALS, having some relief to help ease the financial burdens of achieving their educational goals can sometimes make huge difference, even beyond the dollars. “Jane was a quiet, gentle, yet tenacious warrior, and I promised her I would continue the fight as long as I could. She also put such a high value on education, so this scholarship fund seemed like a great way to honor her,” Calmes said.
More About Jane Calmes
The Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund honors Jane’s courageous spirit, her love of family, and her belief in the importance of education.
Jane Calmes was born in Coffeyville, Kansas, and spent her youth in Neodesha, Kansas. She attended Kansas University and later graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wichita State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science/Dental Hygiene. Jane was an accomplished dental hygienist and loved working with the public, all the while providing a necessary service with gentle thoroughness, for which she was noted. She married Mark Calmes in 1980 and together they had four children. Jane was also an ALS hero, having fought the disease for eight years through pure grit and determination. Early on in her journey with ALS, the family formed a very successful Walk to Defeat ALS® team in her honor named Jane’s Angels, which continues today. Jane passed away peacefully at home on August 16, 2017, in the arms of her husband and surrounded by her loving family.
To learn more about The Jane Calmes ALS Scholarship Fund, and how you can get involved to help support these efforts like these, visit our website HERE.
To continue to follow stories about people living with ALS in the community and learn more about the disease, subscribe to receive our weekly blogs in your inbox HERE or follow us at als.org/blog.
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