{"id":163447,"date":"2026-01-20T10:53:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=163447"},"modified":"2026-01-20T10:53:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T15:53:59","slug":"wright-state-alum-emily-romigh-builds-on-a-family-legacy-in-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/01\/20\/wright-state-alum-emily-romigh-builds-on-a-family-legacy-in-education\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State alum Emily Romigh builds on a family legacy in education"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers honored second-grade teacher Emily Romigh for the thesis she produced as a graduate student in the Master of Education in Literacy program at Wright State.<\/p><\/div>\n

Wright State University alum Emily Romigh followed in her educator mother\u2019s footsteps, with early classroom experiences shaping her path to the profession.<\/p>\n

The matriarch of a family of nine, Romigh\u2019s mother taught art in the Dayton Public School system for more than 30 years. Much of Emily Romigh\u2019s formative years were spent in that classroom, where she first developed a love for learning and teaching.<\/p>\n

Today, Romigh is in her first year of teaching second grade at the Dayton Regional STEM School.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy passion for education began early,\u201d she said. \u201cI spent a lot of time in my mom\u2019s classroom growing up, and watching the joy she found in inspiring her students made a lasting impression on me. I\u2019ve always loved school, so becoming a teacher felt like a natural fit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A native of Englewood and one of a set of triplets, Romigh earned both a bachelor\u2019s degree in elementary education<\/a> and a master\u2019s degree in literacy<\/a> from Wright State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI chose to return to Wright State for my master\u2019s degree because of the strong foundation I received in my undergraduate program,\u201d she said. \u201cThe early childhood education program thoroughly prepared me for the classroom, so continuing at Wright State seemed like a natural step. My mentors, Dr. Hannah Chai and Instructor Lee Welz, were especially influential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through her coursework, including Wright State\u2019s dyslexia certificate program, Romigh developed an expertise in the science of reading, effective literacy instruction and data-driven practices to support diverse learners. That training, she said, has been transformative in her teaching and sparked new questions about instructional practice.<\/p>\n

While teaching reading intervention, Romigh noticed that spelling instruction often received less attention, even though research shows strong spelling skills reinforce reading development. Curious about how to better support students, she began exploring strategies to strengthen spelling instruction in the classroom.<\/p>\n

That inquiry became the focus of her master\u2019s thesis, \u201cSpelling Through the Senses: Using Multi-sensory Activities to Enhance the Spelling Abilities of First Graders.\u201d<\/p>\n

In recognition of that work, Romigh was named the 2025 recipient of the J. Estill Alexander Future Leaders in Literacy Master\u2019s Thesis Award from the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers (ALER). She was honored at the association\u2019s fall conference in Oklahoma City, where she presented her research to fellow educators and scholars.<\/p>\n

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Emily was invited to present her research on spelling instruction at the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers fall conference in Oklahoma City.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cReceiving the ALER Master\u2019s Thesis Award was an incredible honor,\u201d she said. \u201cI was both surprised and thrilled when I found out. I remember starting my research class thinking, \u2018I\u2019m a teacher, not a researcher.\u2019 But with Dr. Chai\u2019s guidance and encouragement, I was able to design and conduct a meaningful study that I\u2019m very proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romigh, who earned a dyslexia certificate from Wright State and a dyslexia interventionist certificate through the Center for Effective Reading Instruction, is passionate about helping students with dyslexia and struggling readers become confident, capable readers and writers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m confident that the strategies she developed through her research are already making a meaningful impact in classrooms across all grade levels,\u201d said Pat Murakami, principal of the Dayton Regional STEM School. \u201cEmily\u2019s success is a reflection of the excellence we strive for at STEM and the training she received from Wright State University.\u201d<\/p>\n

Romigh plans to continue refining her literacy instruction and integrating it into meaningful, project-based learning experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to create a classroom where students feel excited to learn, confident in their abilities, and supported as individuals,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Romigh, that goal reflects both her own path as an educator and the example that first inspired her.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers honored second-grade teacher Emily Romigh for the thesis she produced as a graduate student in the Master of Education in Literacy program at Wright State. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":163462,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,2104,2060,744,725,715,18,4892],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-163447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-teacher-education","category-graduate","category-education-human-services","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-research","category-teacher-education-education-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163447"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163469,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163447\/revisions\/163469"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}