Student Researcher of Color:
Kyla Still

Kyla Still is a senior at Bowie State University, majoring in psychology. Her research interests include generational trauma, art therapy, and the effects of the brain on mental health. Still plans to pursue a master's degree in clinical psychology and later a doctorate in clinical psychology. She hopes to work in a hospital neurology unit after completing a residency and conduct research. In her personal time, Still writes poetry, volunteers, and enjoys trying new things.

Tell us about your research.

I did research on student-parents and the best evidence-based practices that enable them to continue and even finish their education. My teammate and I read through and compiled a library of journal articles so that institutions could have at hand the resources that they need to best support the student-parent population. Student-parents themselves can also find helpful information in our library of articles.

What inspired your interest in this area of study?

When my mentor asked me if I wanted to participate, it sounded like an interesting topic. Oftentimes people do not think about student-parents—the problems student-parents contend with were something that I had never considered—and I thought the research would be a good opportunity to open my eyes to a demographic other than my own. Also, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get some research experience and make a difference in someone’s life.

How do you see your research moving the field of psychology?

I see my research greatly helping student-parents who need help but also bringing awareness to the lack of research about student-parents. We found a lot of articles about student-parents in general but not too much about evidence-based practices, so I see my research as a way for people to start looking for additional evidence-based practices that will support student-parents. I feel as if my research is the stepping stone for someone to go further and better support student-parent populations.

What policy, practice, and public health significance does your research have?

This research is definitely going to affect policy making for institutions. There are a lot of problems with not only communication but also access to the things that student-parents need in general. Regular students also have these problems, but the problems are intensified for student-parents because difficulty in obtaining information and resources could affect their continuation of school. The research could change some classroom policies on attendance, whether a person may bring their child to class with them, and extensions on deadlines, as well as increasing understanding among not only faculty but also the non-student-parent population. It is going to open the door for institutions to realize what is needed to help student-parents graduate so those institutions can create policies to better support them.

What is something you wish you knew about the research process before you started?

I wish I had known how much went into the organization process. Just figuring out how to organize all the information we were finding and make it accessible for others was extremely difficult in this particular case. Originally, we wanted to code the information and then put it in a library, but then we decided to just put it in a library. We changed the course of action so many times during this process that I just wish I had known that everything was subject to change at any time. On some level I already knew that, but I had never experienced it. Experiencing it really opened up my eyes to how much goes into doing research. Constantly changing the game plan on the basis of the information that you are getting is kind of stressful but also fun, because you learn so much.

What’s next for you?

I hope to get more internships and more research experience doing different things. Right now, I am really focusing on graduating so that I can move forward with my education and gain more experience with research and the discipline of psychology in general. I want to focus mainly on neuropsychology and hope to find opportunities within that field.