Mendham Grad Nabs $10K Scholarship

Mackenzie Kurnath is going to find it a little easier to buy books when she heads back to school this fall.

The 2013 graduate of West Morris Mendham High School in Mendham received a $10,000 scholarship to go toward college tuition for the 2013-2014 school year at the first annual Kids’ Chance of New Jersey Gala, held last month at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick.

An active student at West Morris Mendham High School, Kurnath participated in volleyball, lacrosse, basketball and track. She will attend the University of Delaware in the fall, where she plans to major in fashion marketing with the goal of pursuing a public relations career in the fashion industry.

Kids’ Chance of New Jersey is a nonprofit organization cofounded in 2012 by Charles A. Gatto, M.D., director of The Tri-County Spine Center at Tri-County Orthopedics and Chief of the Spine Section for the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Morristown Medical Center of the Atlantic Health System. The $10,000 higher education scholarship is one of many that Kids' Chance of New Jersey awards throughout the year to the sons and daughters of New Jersey workers who have been fatally or catastrophically injured in a work-related accident, resulting in financial need. More than 4 million workplace injuries occur in the United States each year, with approximately 1 million of those resulting in disabling injuries and 5,000 resulting in death.

“Through Kids’ Chance of New Jersey, we are able to eliminate financial obstacles for these very deserving students who are trying to achieve their educational dreams,“ Gatto said.

Funds raised at the Kids’ Chance of New Jersey Gala will contribute to future scholarships. 

For more information about Kids’ Chance of New Jersey, please visit http://www.kidschancenj.org/.