Lee University’s Kylie Estrada, a senior nursing major, recently presented research at the Annual Southeastern Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel (SAEOPP) McNair/Student Support Services (SSS) Scholars Research Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Estrada’s research was focused on music therapy and the reduction of test anxiety in nursing students. She implemented a classical music piece before students took an exam to see if it alleviated their feelings of stress and anxiety before taking a test. 

“I was driven to this research because I am a nursing student who experiences test anxiety, as well as someone who notices my peers struggling with this on a day-to-day basis, and I wanted to see if I could find anything that could alleviate that,” said Estrada. 

Estrada is a McNair Scholar and currently serves as chaplain for Sigma Nu Sigma, a social service club on campus. After graduating from Lee, she plans to go to graduate school, earn a Doctor of Nursing Practice, and become a family nurse practitioner. She then plans to pursue a certification to become specialized in mental health and continue research that will positively impact her community. 

She is currently conducting research about human trafficking screening. Her research’s goal is to evaluate all the current screening tools that are used in emergency rooms (ERs) across the country and find the one that works the best, so it may be implemented and become a standard protocol in ERs in hopes of improving health care providers’ identification methods and rescuing more victims of human trafficking who would otherwise go unnoticed and undocumented. 

“I am incredibly proud of Kylie for her outstanding achievement in conducting research and disseminating her findings at the conference,” said Dr. Samantha Spinks, assistant professor of nursing. “Kylie’s research demonstrates her exceptional analytical and critical thinking skills and highlights her ability to contribute valuable insights to the nursing field. Her commitment to academic excellence and her passion for knowledge are truly inspiring.” 

The Annual SAEOPP McNair/SSS Scholars Research Conference provides opportunities for young scholars to share their research, provide exposure to the key issues in research and higher education, facilitate the interaction between graduate school representatives, graduate faculty, McNair, and SSS scholars, and provide forums for discussion of intellectual issues. 

For more information about the conference, visit SAEOPP.