For Keiko Bridwell, a University of Georgia doctoral candidate in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences’ department of linguistics, the path to Commencement has been guided by a lifelong fascination with words and the people who use them. That curiosity took root in her early life.
As a middle school student, Bridwell competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee four times, spending those years immersed in the structure and history of words. Studying for the spelling bee — guided by her father who served as her coach — sparked a deeper interest in language that would ultimately shape her academic career.
She went on to earn her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in linguistics from the University of South Carolina before arriving at UGA in 2019 to pursue her doctorate. Along the way, her interests evolved from psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics to sociophonetics, where she found a compelling question at the heart of her work: How does language reflect identity?
More specifically, she set out to understand how two interconnected Georgia communities, separated only by a river and a county line, express their linguistic identity in different ways.
Focusing on residents of the Athens area, Bridwell conducted interviews with Georgia natives, asking them about their connection to where they live. She then analyzed the acoustic properties of their vowel sounds, using quantitative methods to measure variations in Southern speech patterns.
“Keiko dug into how Athens and nearby Oconee County residents interact with one another and sought to understand what it means to be a ‘local’ in both of those places,” said Margaret Renwick, former Franklin linguistics faculty member and Bridwell’s advisor. In Oconee County, stronger attachment to place often corresponded with stronger Southern accents. In nearby Athens-Clarke County, however, a deeper connection to Athens tended to align with less traditionally Southern speech patterns.
“Thanks to her careful methodology and detailed analysis, she showed that these communities do have different trends in their accents, which she linked with the expression of Georgia’s rich culture,” Renwick said. “Keiko’s work adds to our understanding of what it means to be a Georgian. I’m extremely proud of what she has accomplished at UGA.”
Shaping identity through language
Over time, Bridwell’s work has shifted from examining how speech varies across groups to a more personal and human-centered question: How do people use language to express who they are? That perspective has shaped not only her research but also her worldview.
“It’s made me more aware of how much agency people have in defining themselves,” she said, noting that language is part of a broader cycle in which identity informs behavior, and behavior shapes identity. For Bridwell, recognizing that shared human desire to be seen has deepened her sense of empathy.
Her journey at UGA has also been defined by adaptability. When Renwick accepted a position at Johns Hopkins University during Bridwell’s sixth year in the doctoral program, Bridwell remained in Athens to complete her research. For the past two years, their mentorship has continued remotely, a challenge that required flexibility but was met with consistent support and dedication.
While at UGA, Bridwell has spent six years working as a UGA Libraries research assistant, supporting students and faculty through the research and computational data management team. There, she helps others navigate data analysis and visualization tools, an aspect of research she has come to love.
“One of my favorite parts is seeing people realize they’re capable of something they thought was beyond them,” she said.
A pursuit of knowledge
While her academic foundation is in linguistics, Bridwell plans to focus on data science, applying her analytical skills across disciplines. In the long term, she hopes to remain in an academic environment, where she can continue her own research and work to expand access to knowledge and technical skills.
Bridwell’s inspiration to pursue a doctorate came, in part, from her father, a first-generation college student who earned his own doctorate. Today, he proudly captions photos of them together as a “pair o’ docs.”
As she reflects on her time in Athens, Bridwell recognizes that her research has, in many ways, mirrored her own experience. Studying how others relate to place has deepened her own connection to the city.
“I’ve come to take pride in living here,” she said, “and to feel invested in the welfare of the community.”
Having successfully defended her dissertation in early March, Bridwell stands at the threshold of Commencement. Her time at UGA and her future plans are ones defined by intellectual curiosity, resilience and a commitment to understanding both ideas and people.