07/05/2025
A big CONGRATULATIONS goes out to our newest speech-language pathologist, Vaselea (Lea) Mathias, for being selected as our Staff SSTar! Miss Lea is about to celebrate her one-year anniversary with SST, and we could not be more thrilled to honor such an amazing, young therapist! Miss Lea has not only represented SST in the schools this past year but recently stepped in to cover a full clinic schedule over the summer as well! According to SST team member, Marla Marrero, Miss Lea’s transition to the clinic was “seamless and beyond impressive.” She states, “I have seen much more seasoned therapists crack under the weight of such a quick transition, but Lea handled everything we threw at her with professionalism well beyond her years. I am so thrilled she is being honored.” SST Speech Department Head, Mona Mehta, is equally impressed with Miss Lea’s growth throughout her clinical fellowship year. “Lea has come a long way from where she began her CF year to the completion. She has exhibited positive growth in her skills. She is excellent with our little learners and works well with them. Lea is a very calm and composed individual! She is ready to take up challenges presented to her! Lea is very respectful and communicates well with her colleagues! We are very happy to have Lea as part of our SST team.” In addition, SST president, Melanie Shultz, describes Lea as “a very kind, understanding, and compassionate SLP!” Furthermore, Miss Melanie feels that although Lea is “relatively new to the field of speech-language pathology, she has steadily built her skill set and therapeutic knowledge as she serves a wide variety of clients both in our clinic and school assignments.” Furthermore, Miss Melanie is proud to report that “the Director of Special Education from her school assignment felt as though Lea gained so much confidence as the year progressed and was very impressed with the level of interaction she witnessed with her students, teachers and families!”
Way to go! We are so proud of you, Lea, and are very fortunate to have you on our SST Team!
Miss Lea was born and raised in the city of Bay Village, just west of Cleveland, OH. During her high school years, Miss Lea enjoyed performing in various singing groups, such as show choir and a capella choir. Her musical talents also extended to the school musical, Wizard of Oz, where she was featured as both a flying monkey and a flower! (No wonder she is so good at multitasking!) As she was finishing high school, Miss Lea debated between a career in teaching or as a speech-language pathologist. “During that time in my life, I felt as though God had sent all these amazing people to me in order to share their many inspiring stories on how their lives had been impacted through speech therapy. But most inspirational, was hearing my dad and younger sister talk about their personal struggles with speech. At that point, I knew where my career path would take me.” Miss Lea went on to receive both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Cleveland State. During her time at Cleveland State, Miss Lea got the opportunity to be placed in an elementary school setting. There, she truly felt as though she could positively impact children by helping them with their speech goals while still supporting them in their education, thus combining her two career ambitions. Miss Lea was hired by Specialized Speech Technologies shortly after graduation and knowing she would be able to start her career as a speech-language pathologist in the schools seemed like the perfect opportunity. “This past year in the schools has been wonderful and I have learned so much. But I also love that at SST I can practice in the clinic as well. It is the best of both worlds!”
When not representing SST, Miss Lea enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Grant. The two met online during the pandemic and were married in 2022. Grant works as both an x-ray service engineer and as a personal chef. Needless to say, having a chef husband is the epitome of living the dream. Miss Lea states, “I haven’t cooked a dinner more than twice in the past three years. I have it so good! My favorite things he makes are his banana bread and homemade pasta.” (YUM!) During her off time, Miss Lea can also be found crafting, watching rom-coms, or dabbling in music. “I still enjoy singing and am getting back into piano as well. I think music will always be an important part of my life.” Miss Lea and Grant also enjoy giving their dog Sebastian “Seb” all the love and attention he deserves. The couple adopted their sweet pit bull/lab mix over four years ago and he is “greatly spoiled… as he should be!”
Congratulations Miss Lea! We are so THANKFUL for all you bring to SST!
