Three more URI College of Nursing students have joined Ph.D. student Emily Haynes as recipients of Cynthia & Thomas Sculco Graduate Nursing Research scholarships, which cover much of their expenses, allowing them to focus exclusively on their research and studies.

Today we take a look at one of the students benefitting from the gift from alumnus Cynthia Sculco ’65 and her husband Thomas, and the research she has planned.

Somatra Connolly

Hometown: Westwood, Massachusetts

Education track: PhD program

Previous education: BSN, MS- Psychiatric Mental Health NP, Boston College.

Experience: Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner at Community Counseling of Bristol County, Taunton, MA.

Research: Simpson has worked with clients who have experienced sexual violence and intimate partner violence. At URI, she plans to focus on health risk behaviors and outcomes in emerging adulthood women, within the context of trauma. Her mixed-methods approach will include direct interviews with participants, as well as data mining on intimate violence and likely outcomes.

“It’s kind of looking at what are the risky behaviors these women engage in and what are the outcomes of the behaviors, and what type of impact does it have on their mental health going forward,” Connolly said, noting she often works with clients who have not spoken of their trauma for perhaps 20 years, impacting their mental health. “I view it as a public health concern, and not one that is going away, so I think my goal ultimately is not only to raise awareness, but also learn how can we best serve those women who have experienced intimate partner violence and sexual trauma to try to mitigate some of the long-term effects. I think the sooner we can intervene, the better for their mental health.”