About 17 students gathered in the Legacy Multipurpose Room to listen to Kylie Kerr, graduate intern at the Counseling Center, give advice on ways to tame their test anxiety on Oct. 4.

“The main purpose of the workshop is making everyone more aware that we all deal with test anxiety and demonstrate some effective ways to cope with it,” Kerr said.

The presentation had nine slides about ways to bring test anxiety levels down through effective study techniques such as using a dump page, mnemonic devices and learning pyramids.

“I believe the most important aspect of taming test anxiety that students should know is normalizing it which helps them realize that they are not the only ones dealing with it,” Kerr said.

Kerr gave sound advice about study techniques that resonated with the students that attended.

Blake Hill, computer science freshman, said, “The most important thing that I learned was effective studying techniques. She suggested studying in 15-minute intervals and taking five minute breaks in between.”

Hunter Stillman, management freshman, agreed that the strategy mentioned above was beneficial.

“I learned that there are easier ways to study such as taking breaks in between because the longer you study the less information you retain. I came to the workshop because sometimes I walk into an exam feeling nauseous and scared because I don’t believe that I’m going to do well so I hoped that this workshop will help me to feel more at ease,” Stillman said.

Students also learned strategies and signs that they should be aware of and ways to deal with test anxiety prior to taking an exam, which helped students like Stillman feel more confident and considered it helpful.

Stillman said, “The workshop was helpful because it gave me a good, comfortable feel. It showed me there are ways to feel better about exams. Also, it made me realize that I am not the only person with test anxiety so I don’t feel alone. It helped me to feel more at ease because I believe now I will do better on my exams.”

Hill agreed.

“In my opinion, the presentation was very helpful. I learned that I have more mental reactions than physical reactions as it relates to test anxiety,” Hill said.

This workshop will be held again in the first week of November.