Notre Dame of Maryland University is a small, 501(c)3 liberal-arts women's college in Baltimore. One of NDMU's biggest challenges, as well as one of their defined missions, is to make a college education available to young women who most likely would not otherwise have access to higher education.

There is a large and growing number of students at NDMU who participate in the "Trailblazer Program"; this program provides additional resources and support to first-generation college students who will be able to change the economic future for their families. 

Many of the students in NDMU's School of Nursing are Trailblazers and other students who come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds.  A small and committed faculty works hard to teach the art and science of nursing, but these students need many additional resources, financial and otherwise. Trailblazers often come from very real poverty and are working to impact change, not only for themselves but also to their greater community by choosing a career that focuses on others - Nursing.