SON graduate student Nakia Best has been inducted into the Frank Porter Graham Graduate and Professional Student Honor Society. Nominated by Associate Professor Debbie Travers, Nakia was one of only twenty one graduate students at Carolina to receive this honor.
Congratulations Nakia on the well-deserved recognition of your dedication and contribution to the University and community!
Nakia Best has made outstanding contributions to the University and community through teaching, research and service. She began her doctoral studies at the School of Nursing in 2012 and during her PhD program she has served as a Teaching Fellow for our school. This service follows several years as clinical faculty in the UNC School of Nursing prior to her doctoral studies, during which time she was a popular and well-regarded teacher of pre-licensure nursing students. As a researcher Nakia Best has participated in several research projects on campus and has represented the School of Nursing by presenting her work at local, regional and national venues. Her doctoral dissertation research is an outgrowth of a partnership between the University and state and local public education and public health officials that addresses opportunities for improving the health of school children in North Carolina. The goal of her dissertation research project is to identify patterns in school nurse health services, student health and education outcomes, and to evaluate the impact of NC school nurse-to-student ratios and programs on the health and education outcomes of school children.
Nakia Best has also excelled in service to the University and community. Among her many service commitments, she has served the School of Nursing representative to the Health Sciences Library Committee, the Information Technology Advisory Board, as a facilitator for a summer outreach program sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, has assisted with recruitment for the Informatics Boot Camp offered through the Carolina Health Informatics Program, and has held officer positions with the local chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International. Nakia is also a CPR instructor in the community and has served the North Carolina League for Nursing.