Five graduates of Baltimore City high schools are the first recipients of UMB’s Baltimore City Scholars Award, a scholarship for city high school graduates pursuing degrees at UMB.
Photos: Top, left to right: Emma Lyles, Shobhit Prasad. Bottom left to right, Quoc Ngo, Victoria Able. Not pictured: Tanya Bryant-Nickens.
Five graduates of Baltimore City high schools are the first recipients of the University of Maryland, Baltimore's (UMB) new Baltimore City Scholars Award, an annual scholarship for city high school graduates pursuing degrees at UMB.
Funded by the President’s Community Fund, each recipient receives $2,000 for the academic year, split into $1,000 in the fall and $1,000 in the spring.
The inaugural recipients are:
- Victoria Able, who is pursuing a MSW at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW). She attended City Neighbors High School. Her long-term goals include becoming a full-spectrum doula and establishing a community-rooted resource center in Baltimore that integrates clinical social work, advocacy, and supportive services to address health and social inequities.
- Tanya Bryant-Nickens, MSW ’08, who is in the first cohort of UMSSW’s Doctor of Social Work program. She graduated from Western High School. Following completion of her doctoral degree, Bryant-Nickens plans to mentor future DSW cohorts, support efforts to restructure social work licensure examinations, and expand her work promoting mental well-being among executives and supervisors in professional settings. Her goal is to help reduce stigma surrounding workplace wellness while creating healthier organizational cultures.
- Emma Lyles, who is a 3L at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She graduated from Catholic High School of Baltimore. Following graduation, she plans to spend a year clerking for Judge Terrence Zic at the Appellate Court of Maryland.
- Quoc Ngo, who is a D2 at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. He graduated from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. A proud Baltimorean, after graduation Ngo plans to serve communities throughout Baltimore and across Maryland as a dental professional.
- Shobhit Prasad, who is a second-year student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He graduated from Gilman School. After graduation, he plans to work as a primary care physician in Baltimore, focusing on improving access to health care for underserved communities.
To qualify, applicants must be enrolled in a degree-granting program at UMB, have graduated from a high school in Baltimore City, be in good academic standing, and demonstrate financial need.
The high school requirement is based on location, not school type, said Margo Stebbins, MA, senior specialist for student affairs and well-being. Public, private, and charter school graduates are all eligible as long as the school is in Baltimore City.
"With the cost of higher education, particularly for our graduate and professional students, this is a wonderful opportunity for the University to support students in achieving their goals while also giving back to the city in which we live and partner with as an anchor institution," said Patty Alvarez, PhD, MS, vice president and chief student affairs officer.
The award is one of several endowed and UMB scholarships that recognize students for academic achievement and commitment to the community. Students can apply once and be considered for multiple awards, though they may receive only one.
“UMB is proud to support Baltimore City high school graduates in their pursuit of higher education and we encourage eligible students to apply for next year’s award,” Alvarez said.