Lab Director
Arnold (A.J.) Olszewski
Dr. Olszewski is a speech-language pathologist with previous experience working in schools. His research focuses on developing feasible, evidence-based language and literacy interventions for young children. Specifically, he has contributed to the development and evaluation of interventions for phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, vocabulary, and syntax. His interventions involve parents, teachers, special educators, and speech-language pathologists. He also is interested in identifying potential barriers to literacy acquisition in young children. To this end, he uses observational approaches, cross-sectional designs, and eye tracking to measure children’s acquisition of key early literacy skills.
Dr. Olszewski earned a B.S. in Psychology and Speech and Hearing Sciences from The Ohio State University. He earned a M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Purdue University. He earned a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Florida and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. He has experience working on projects funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences and has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and Miami University. In his spare time, he enjoys hiking, cooking, and spending time with his husband, Brandon, and their dogs- Toby and Ollie.
Graduate Students
Bri Ferguson
Bri is a 1st-year graduate student at Miami studying Speech Pathology. She graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Hearing Science with a minor in Human Development and Family Science. She was a research assistant for the BabyTalk Project at the OSU Eye and Ear Institute. There, she studied the development of language in children with hearing disorders. Bri’s professional interest includes working with children and studying their language development. She hopes to work in schools following her graduate studies. In her free time, she enjoys relaxing, being with family and friends, and traveling to new places.
Jacqueline Fox
Jacqueline is a first-year graduate student at Miami University studying Speech-Language Pathology. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Hearing Science with a minor in Disability Studies. Jacqueline has professional goals of working with the pediatric population after graduation. Jacqueline also enjoys spending time with friends and family and instructing group fitness classes.
Alyssa McGarvey
My name is Alyssa McGarvey and I am currently a graduate student at Miami University that is studying Speech Pathology. I graduated in May 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology & Audiology from Miami University. I started conducting research in the CALL Lab during my senior year as a research assistant. The main goal of this research was to take previously existing rubrics that judge educational apps, determine their validity and reliability, and then create a rubric based on the results. My professional interests include articulation disorders, language development, swallowing, and social skills. I would also like to work with children in a school or hospital setting. During my time spent not doing schoolwork, I enjoy being with family and friends, working out, and watching movies.
Melanie Weber
Melanie is a current graduate student at Miami University studying Speech Pathology. She graduated from Miami University in 2022 with a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology & Audiology. Throughout her undergraduate studies she completed two minors in Family Relationships as well as Child Studies & Youth Development. Over the course of her senior year, Melanie conducted research in the CALL Lab on the efficacy of educational applications. Her and the research group developed a comprehensive rubric based on previous research and a survey that was sent out to educators and Speech Language Pathologists. For the past two summers she has been volunteering at NAPA Center Boston, an intensive care outpatient facility for children with neurological disabilities. Her professional interests range from neurological disorders, intensive therapy to literacy development, and the impact that family contexts have on language and speech development.
Undergraduate Students
Claire Ogden
Claire is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Speech Pathology from Columbus, Ohio. She plans to pursue a minor in neuroscience as well. While Claire is still exploring her professional interests, she has always loved working with children. Children have a unique way of expressing their ideas and feelings through verbal and nonverbal means. Her interest in speech pathology stems from communication being our most humane and vital characteristic. She plans to graduate from Miami University in 2025 and pursue her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology.
Recent Graduates
Jillian Everett
Christina Huber
Ellie Lanier
Grace McKee
Hannah Seinfeld
Julia Wank