The documentary follows five students who are part of UMB’s CURE Scholars Program as they complete their high school studies. The winners will be announced June 24.
The film “12th Grade: From West Baltimore,” which follows five students who are part of the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) CURE Scholars Program as they complete their high school studies, has been nominated for an Emmy Award by the National Capital Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
The film is nominated in the category of Documentary — Cultural/Topical. Winners will be announced at the 65th Emmy Awards Gala on June 24 in Bethesda, Md.
“12th Grade,” which is produced by Academy Award winner Susan Hannah Hadary, was supported with funding by UMB and the University of Maryland Baltimore Foundation, Inc.
"When UMB received the National Cancer Institute grant to be first in the nation to start a CURE Scholars program with sixth-graders, I thought it would be important to document the stories of the first cohort, to show the full arc from sixth grade through college graduation and hopefully acceptance to medical school or other graduate program,” said Jennifer B. Litchman, MA, senior vice president for external relations, UMB, and executive producer of the “From West Baltimore” documentary series. “I never once imagined that we would be nominated for one Emmy Award, let alone two. It’s a testament to the resilience, grit, and determination of these five scholars, who have inspired so many with their stories, told so eloquently in their own voices, about education’s power and promise.”
“12th Grade” is the latest installment in the “From West Baltimore” series and follows five high school seniors in West Baltimore as they continue their journeys to become the first in their families to go to college. The students — Princaya Sanders, Davioin Hill, Courtney Jacobs, Tyler McKenzie, and Shakeer Franklin — must succeed in navigating the college application process and securing full funding for college.
The five documentaries were filmed over a seven-year period, from sixth grade to high school graduation, and capture the students’ resilience and determination to find a better life while growing up amid generational poverty in West Baltimore. Speaking for African American youth throughout the country living in disadvantaged neighborhoods, they share the challenges of their world.
The first film “From West Baltimore (6th and 7th Grade)” was also nominated for an Emmy Award.
The UMB CURE Scholars Program is a groundbreaking year-round program that seeks to empower middle school and high school students in West Baltimore for competitive and rewarding research, health care, and STEM-related career opportunities. It was the first of its kind to attract middle school students into the National Cancer Institute’s Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program. The second cohort of CURE Scholars recently graduated.
Visit umaryland.edu/cure-scholars for more information about the program and ways you can support the scholars as mentors and volunteers.