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(KNZA)--Three Royal Valley Middle School students have won an international  award for their documentary bring to light the little-known story about an American nurse who saved the lives of thousands of Armenian orphans.

8th graders Colin Caviness, Colin Everts and Luke Boyden were presented Wednesday with certificates and a check for $7,500 after winning the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Discovery Award.  The three are students in Nate McAlister’s history class.

Their award-winning documentary called “ A Light in the Darkness” is about Emma Darling Cushman, who cared for thousands of Armenian children during and after World War I.

In addition to caring for countless orphans, Cushman served as Acting Consul of the Allies and Neutral Nations, overseeing millions of dollars in relief funds and prisoner exchanges.

Boyden said “this project didn’t just change my life, it changed Emma’s life and how she will be remembered.”

Along with the cash, the students have been given the honor of inscribing Cushman’s headstone at the American Cemetery in Cairo, Egypt.  Cushman was buried without a headstone after she died of blackwater fever at the age of 66.