Alumni

Kira Bondi

Kira was an undergraduate honours student at SFU in the process of completing a major in Linguistics as well as her TESL certificate. Kira is interested in understanding how children learn and develop language and how different developmental disabilities, interact with language learning. She has completed her Bachelor's degree and has been accepted to UBC's program for Speech Language Pathology.

Marleis Bowering

Marleis was one of the first Research Assistants in the lab and since joining us has completed her Bachelor of Arts and Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science at SFU. She now continues studying language and communication as a graduate student in the Faculty of Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia. She hopes to become a clinician upon completion of the program, with a special focus on children and adults with developmental disorders.

Kylie Brajcich

Kylie was an undergraduate student pursuing a major in linguistics, an extended minor in psychology, and a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. She is passionate about communication, specifically how developmental disabilities and neurological disorders impact speech. Outside of SFU, Kylie works and volunteers with Down Syndrome and Autistic clients in speech therapy. She has completed her Bachelor's degree and has been accepted to UBC's program for Speech Language Pathology.

Jiyun (Daisy) Choi

Daisy completed her time at SFU with a major in Linguistics and French, as well as a Certificate in Speech Sciences. She accepted an entrance scholarship and offer into UBC's School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, where she expects to complete a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology in 2026. Once she graduates, Daisy hopes to work with the adult and senior communities, particularly with those living with acquired communication disorders like aphasia, to help improve their quality of life and access to rehabilitative services in BC. But first, she plans on taking a well-deserved vacation to celebrate the beginning of her clinical career!

Sahibnoor Kaur Dhami

Sahibnoor was an undergraduate student at SFU pursuing a major in Linguistics, an extended minor in Psychology, and a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. She is interested in bilingualism and language acquisition. In her free time, she enjoys reading and baking. In the lab, Sahibnoor worked on a project investigating the child acquisition of complex phonological processes. She has completed her BA and is taking her experience of being a research assistant and lab manager at the Phono Lab to UBC, where she expects to complete a Masters in Speech-Language Pathology in 2026.

Anisa Maya Dhanji

Anisa graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and French with a French Language Proficiency Certificate and a Certificate in Speech Science. Over the course of her time in the Phono Lab, Anisa has been focused on creating the Spoken Word Recognition in L2 Learners of English experiment with Holly and adding to the s-Cluster Inventory Project (sCIP). After graduation, Anisa decided to further her education in SFU's PDP French Module.

Gillian Eggeling

Gillian was an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Linguistics, a minor in Learning and Developmental Disabilities Education, and a Certificate in Speech Sciences. She is interested how language disorders impact communication. Outside of SFU, she volunteers with March of Dimes as a facilitator for conversations with participants with Aphasia. In her free time she loves to listen to music and play guitar. Gillian has completed her BA and has been accepted to California State, East Bay's Masters program for Speech-Language Pathology.

Vagrant Gautam

Vagrant graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Linguistics. After completing xyr degree requirements Vagrant began working at Dialpad as a Computational Linguist where xe is using the advanced skills xe learned throughout xyr degree. Vagrant plans on pursuing a Master’s degree in the future. Read about xyr journey as an undergrad and recent graduate here. 

Holly Gendron

Holly graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. Since starting in the Phono Lab, Holly has worked with Anisa on the Spoken Word Recognition in L2 Learners of English experiment and has contributed greatly to the s-Cluster Inventory Project (sCIP). Holly plans to pursue a graduate degree in Speech Language Pathology in the coming years.

Hannah Ghaderi

Hannah is an MA student at SFU in the department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's studies. Her research interests center around the power relations fundamental to heteropatriarchal societies and their impact on language, literature, and cinema. Holding one bachelor's degree in Persian Language and Literature and one in Gender Studies Hannah's work is animated by the intersection of queer politics and popular culture. She plans to pursue her studies focusing on queer cinema and exploring its impacts on the LGBTQ communities. Outside her work, Hannah enjoys writing, drawing, playing piano, and practicing yoga.

Rebekah Gingrich

Rebekah graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English and Linguistics with a certificate in Teaching English as a Second Language. In the lab Rebekah worked on the study Learning to Listen Flexibly where she was part of collecting and transcribing data from child research subjects with various language backgrounds. Since graduation, Rebekah chose to attend the PDP program at SFU for high school English instruction.

Erica Halabourda

Erica completed her undergraduate education at SFU graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Linguistics and Minor in Psychology as well as a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. She is taking her experience of being a research assistant and lab manager at the Phono Lab to UBC where she is continuing her education as a student in the Masters of Speech-Language Pathology program.

Eri Ikezawa

Eri graduated as a Linguistic major with an extended minor in Psychology. While she is taking a gap year to explore and consider multiple academic and occupational avenues, she continues volunteering at the lab due to her continued interest in the linguistic field. 

Felicity Jiang

Felicity graduated with a joint major in Business and Psychology. She enjoyed learning about human thoughts and its impact on behavior, which is what drove her into psychology. Her main interest is on Memory and Learning and she is hoping to become a counsellor to further pursue her passion.

Kevin Kong

Kevin majored in linguistics and minored in psychology, and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and the Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. He enjoyed learning about the lab’s research and being involved in the different projects. Carrying these experiences with him, Kevin will continue his education to pursue his passion in speech-language pathology which you can learn more about in this article.

Rilla MacDonald

Rilla MacDonald completed her undergraduate education in SFU with a Major in linguistics and Minor in psychology. Her main interests lie in children's language acquisition. Rilla is planning on furthering her education to become a speech and language pathologist.

Chelsea Riebesehl McGarvie

Chelsea is an undergraduate student at SFU pursuing a major in Linguistics, with minors in Gerontology and History. She is interested in language acquisition, sociolinguistics, and Indigenous language revitalization, and intends to pursue further education in Linguistics after graduation. In her free time, she can be found reading alongside her cats, jogging outdoors, or enjoying a trivia night.

Tabatha Mason

Tabatha was an undergraduate student studying Linguistics with minors in French and Learning and Developmental Disabilities, and a certificate in Speech Sciences. She is interested in bilingualism, language acquisition, and aphasia. In her free time, Tabatha enjoys volunteering, participating in student clubs and going to karaoke.  Tabatha has graduated and is now a graduate student pursuing a master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology at UBC.

Larissa Melville

Larissa is now a graduate student puruing her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology; she graduated from SFU first class with distinction with a BA in Cognitive Science and Linguistics. Her interests lie in research, with focus on how speech and the brain interact in asphasia. Her projects in the Phonological Processing Lab included Online Investigation of Word Structures and Learning Opacity. She will keep in touch with the linguistic research departments at UBC and SFU to ensure her love for research, programming, and data does not dwindle.

Sana Midha

Sana graduated with a Degree in Linguistics, with a Minor in English, and an Extended Minor in Psychology, a Certificate in Liberal Arts, and a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. She has gained experience working in Child Phonology, data coding, experiment design, and more during her time at the lab. Currently, she is working as an Assistant Manager at a Preschool, and a Child and Youth Counselor to children with developmental disabilities and Special Needs. 

Juliana Mitchell

Juliana was an undergraduate student at SFU working towards a major in Linguistics and minor in Psychology. She has also completed the requirements for a Certificate in Speech Sciences. Juliana has an interest in how children acquire language, in particular, how children with Autism acquire language. She has completed her BA and has been accepted to UBC's program for Speech Language Pathology.

Surbhi Negi

Surbhi is an undergraduate student currently pursuing a BSc in Statistics from the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Sciences. She is interested in coming up with valuable insights by analyzing data and solving real-world problems. She also believes in having a growth mindset and when she's free, she likes to mix music and cook.

Julie Park

Julie is a linguistics major. She is interested in phonology and hopes to expand her knowledge in this field.

Ethan Pincott

Ethan was a long time research assistant in the Phonological Processing Lab. He graduated with his Bachelor's Degree with a Major in Linguistics. During his time at SFU his studies focused on phonology and First Nations Studies.  He is now completing a Masters in Linguistics paired with a Grad Certificate in the Linguistics of a First Nations language. He is especially interested in the documentation and revitalization of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh language.

Alison St Arnaud

Alison is completing her BA, majoring in Linguistics and minoring in Psychology. During her studies and lab participation, Alison focused on developmental, language processing, and phonological aspects of speech and language, and has earned a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Sciences. She plans on pursuing her Master's degree in Speech and Language Pathology, intending to focus on the stream of autism and language intervention.

Josh Thompson

Josh was an undergraduate student pursuing a major in Linguistics. He is interested in phonology, syntax, and sociolinguistics. Outside of school, he enjoys golfing, spending time with his dog, and watching stand-up specials. Currently, he is completing his Masters of Library and Information Studies at UBC.

Allyson Ugalde

Allyson graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Linguistics from UVic in 2019, where she completed an honours thesis titled "Sounding Like Mom: A sociolinguistic study of intervocalic /t/ in developing speakers". She is currently at SFU pursuing a post-baccalaureate diploma in Computing Science. Her research interests include language acquisition, phonology, and computational linguistics and she is excited to be working in the Phonological Processing Lab.

Sydney Walton

Sydney was an undergraduate student at SFU majoring in Cognitive Science, minoring in Learning and Developmental Disabilities, and pursuing the Speech Science certificate. His focus is on speech and communication development in children with autism due to his years of working in special education. Outside of linguistics and classroom work, he is typically hiking, reading, or playing video games. Interested in psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics, and language development, he is now pursuing a Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology at UBC now that he has finished his BA degree.

Rachel Wang

Rachel was an undergraduate student studying linguistics as her major and psychology as her minor. While Rachel is interested in all things linguistics, she has a particular love for phonology and phonetics. She has learned more about these topics through her work in the phonological processing lab and is now studying Audiology at UBC.

Yimin Wang

Yimin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from mainland China years ago. She is now a mature student at SFU pursuing the Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science. She is interested in second language acquisition, reading problems among dyslexic and autistic children. Her passion is in advocating for the health needs of immigrants and hopes to work with children after she graduates. She has been accepted to University of Alberta's program for Speech Language Pathology.

Ali Wilson

Ali is an undergraduate student at SFU completing a major in linguistics with a minor in education. Her areas of interest include second language education and how it influences bilingual identity as well as advocating for the use of visuals in the communication of linguistic concepts. Before coming to SFU, Ali was a design student at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Outside of school, she is a certified ESL teacher and is excited about moving to Korea to continue teaching English once she has completed her BA.

Janitta Wong

Janitta graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and completed a post-baccalaureate program in Linguistics and a Certificate in the Linguistics of Speech Science at SFU. Her research interests include phonetics, first and second language acquisition, speech perception, and communication disorders. Outside of the lab, she volunteers and works with adults with aphasia and children with autism spectrum disorders. She is taking her experience of being a research assistant and lab manager at the Phono Lab to UBC where she is continuing her education in the Masters of Speech-Language Pathology program.

Marissa Woods

Marissa graduated from SFU with a Major in Linguistics and Minor in Psychology. During her time in the lab she gained hands on experience in experimental research through working on the lab's ongoing eye-tracking studies and headed a project creating a database of s-cluster typologies. She continues to pursue her passion for Linguistics by studying for a Masters in Speech Language Pathology at the University of Alberta.