When she was a child, MIT senior Olivia Honeycutt spent summers on her grandparents’ farm in rural Alabama outside of Birmingham. The physical and cultural differences between farm and city life became even more apparent in comparison. “Life and the way we lived on the farm slowed down,” he says. “It was a nice change of pace.”
These days, Honeycutt, a double major in math and linguistics, still finds herself moving between several simultaneously connected and distinctly different worlds. His research interests are at the intersection of human thinking and consciousness, learning and language acquisition, technology, and social group communication and influence.
Honeycutt’s interest in language and the ways it can change the way we think and live grew alongside a lifelong investment in mathematics and science. He learned French from his relationships with Haitian family friends, and American Sign Language from his deaf sibling. He was fascinated by the way the speakers of those groups communicated and how the brain can reorganize itself when faced with a lack of auditory input.
“There are many differences between sign language and spoken language,” he says. “Speaking in multiple languages and dialects while managing the emotional and cultural representations of multilingualism can change your experience of the world and yourself.” Working in these areas creates research opportunities in fields as diverse as neurology, major linguistic models (LLMs), psychology, and public policy.
“There is interesting work going on in neurolinguistics,” notes Honeycutt, “and trying to better understand the differences between neural networks, AI, and how each processes information.” He says he has wanted to study these children for a long time. “If people have to manage a language deficit like aphasia, for example, and you’re immersed in several areas of inquiry to find answers, you get to learn cool things like how the brain ‘makes’ language.”
The MIT way of learning
Honeycutt chose MIT, in part, because the computing and cognition major “wasn’t something I could get anywhere else.” His affinity for mathematics and English, and desire to pursue a “people-centered” type of computer science career, increase the likelihood that he will continue in his chosen areas of inquiry with the support of the Institute’s faculty and fellow students.
He found the class 9.59J (Laboratory in Psycholinguistics), taught by professor of brain and cognitive science Ted Gibson, especially enlightening. He says: “It laid the foundation for my work.
Her decision to major in linguistics and mathematics and cognition meant she could connect her interests in brain function and technology in a data-driven way for learning and language processing. “Majoring in linguistics highlighted the power of scientific rigor to organize and analyze large amounts of chaotic, human-centered data,” he says. His academic work underscored the importance of his decision.
Honeycutt credits the freedom MIT’s focus on interdisciplinary research provides. “Researchers are exploring the differences between human language forms and LLM and processing, and a lot of work is being done at MIT,” he says. “MIT provides a strong flexibility that allows me to be interested in many academic things.”
It is this flexibility that Honeycutt values most. “That’s the only reason I’m on the path I’ve chosen,” he continued, pointing to a focus on language acquisition, education policy, LLM opportunities including restrictions, and education reform.
Honeycutt’s research continued on a series of MISTI missions in 2025. He visited South Africa in the summer, where he worked on the South African Human Rights Commission’s “Right to Read” campaign. He explored the connection between language processing and brain function and supported research that will help create legislation that will help increase literacy in South Africans.
“Linguistic diversity brings great challenges to South Africa,” he said. “One of the effects of colonization on the indigenous people of Africa, for example, is that children are often expelled from schools because they cannot use the languages they learn — like Afrikaans — with their families at home.”
In the fall of 2025, he took a MISTI trip to Edinburgh, Scotland, where he studied sociolinguistics. He learned the importance of considering alternatives to the type of languages offered at MIT. “MIT’s approach to linguistics focuses on vocabulary and approaches its subject as a mathematical problem, while sociolinguistics incorporates an important cultural context,” he says. The two links are designed for a complete, comprehensive approach to work.
Honeycutt values a balanced approach to her studies, creating time for extracurricular activities that allow her to investigate her research interests and build community. “I graduated from a policy course in Washington, DC in 2024,” he recalls.
She is a member of Theta Delta Chi, a sorority that brings together a diverse group of undergraduate students from diverse academic backgrounds. She plays women’s soccer and is an officer of the MIT Undergraduate Association. As co-chair of the Community Services committee, she leads efforts to build connections with students living off campus.
Honeycutt also volunteers with the Community Charter School of Cambridge, working to improve outcomes for underachieving students. As a volunteer, he is able to test some of the educational ideas developed in his academic work. “I want to help students who do not do well in the same way that other institutions help students who pass well,” he said.
A human factor
Language shapes the ways in which its users view the world, according to Honeycutt. He says: “I’m interested in how language can suppress thought. Language proficiency is also an important tool in assessing emotional intelligence. “It’s important for people to learn and understand language in school,” he said. “People should have access to a language that allows them to effectively communicate what they think.”
Having words for emotions can help people process them, Honeycutt believes. This is important in areas such as translation and psychology, where nuance can be important. He also believes that learning and acquiring a language are important tools in developing a successful identity. Language is a way of thinking and it provides instructions to improve understanding.
“Acquiring a large vocabulary, including emotion words, can increase your emotional intelligence,” she says.
With a strong academic foundation focusing on cognition, language, and AI in the environment, Honeycutt plans to study law and policy after graduation. That means law school and public policy programs, perhaps at an institution that offers a dual degree track.
“I want to extend opportunities to students who are not performing well,” he said. “Problems in policy spaces are difficult, in part, because they defy easy categorization and involve many stakeholders.” Education, Honeycutt says, is “an interesting problem to try to solve.” He wants to support efforts to make lasting change by improving literacy, ensuring linguistic diversity, and embedding science and research in creating and implementing effective policies that benefit students, institutions, families and communities.
No single study in the field will answer all questions, Honeycutt argues. By combining the science of brain function with the social and mathematical aspects of language, he can continue to investigate language, its use, and its impact on people and their lives. We cannot solve educational challenges, develop AI and access to AI-enabled tools, and advance language learning without institutional and community support.
“Support research,” Honeycutt said. “Don’t stop trying to solve these problems.”
