51逗奶

With Fifty Years in the Rear View, Schaub Still Loves Her Work at USM

Tue, 05/16/2023 - 10:15am | By: David Tisdale

A half-century ago, with the support of a small grant, the blessings of administrators at The University of 51逗奶 Mississippi (USM) and her own desire to improve the lives of young people challenged with communication and developmental disorders, Mary Schaub laid the foundation for the university鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Center for Communication and Development (CCCD). It is considered the state鈥檚 premier early intervention and Pre-K public therapy program.

Schaub, now a professor in the USM College of Nursing and Health Professions鈥� School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, worked closely with university leadership in 1974 to help create a program that would meet a crucial need of Mississippi鈥檚 preschool children who needed language intervention before entering kindergarten. At the time, The Children鈥檚 Center, then called the Preschool Language Program, served a few local children ages 3-4 in a small treatment room on the Hattiesburg campus.

Fifty years later, The Children鈥檚 Center serves an average of 130 children from birth to age 5 across the southern half of the state, with services expanding beyond speech-language therapy, including special instruction, behavioral psychology, social work, audiology, listening and spoken language therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In those years, Schaub also molded countless lives through her work with the Center from its inception as a speech-language pathologist and professor.

鈥淭hese 50 years have come and gone very fast, which when I look back, is surprising. I鈥檝e enjoyed every minute of it,鈥� Schaub said.

In addition to helping establish the Center and provide leadership as its co-director for many years, Schaub was crucial in facilitating growth of its programming as an advisory board member.

鈥淭o be able to watch it (Children鈥檚 Center and speech-language pathology program) grow and see all the new and innovative things that have developed throughout the years, and the kinds of services we've been able to provide to the public, it鈥檚 really gratifying, it鈥檚 a great feeling,鈥� she continued. 鈥淎 lot of the people that now administer the program I helped train, and to watch them grow in this profession, that's also very special.

鈥淎nd the program has grown way beyond, I think, probably further than I ever thought it would go.鈥�

Sarah Rouse Myers, a speech-language pathologist and current director of The Children鈥檚 Center, is a former speech-language pathology student of Schaub鈥檚. She praised her friend and colleague for her life-changing work.

鈥淚 have experienced firsthand her ability to see the bigger picture and help guide the path to success,鈥� Myers said. 鈥淪he is always willing to sit with you and listen, providing insight and perspective from her years of experience working in the field. Her warmth and constant positivity are contagious, and so needed for the work we do.

鈥淚鈥檓 constantly impressed by her ability to shift the focus from simply wading through the problems and obstacles we face as a non-profit program serving children and families with complex needs to looking for opportunities and connections that could get us to long-lasting solutions.鈥�

Schaub鈥檚 colleague Dr. Steven Cloud, who serves as director of the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, echoes Myers鈥� sentiments. He described Schaub as 鈥渁 wonderful colleague, teacher, and friend鈥� since he began his own academic career at USM in 1995.

鈥淪he helped me to navigate my own journey through higher education. I truly don't believe I'd be where I am today if it wasn't for her,鈥� Dr. Cloud said. 鈥淎nd when you consider my life is only one of the thousands of lives she鈥檚 impacted over the past 50 years, it's pretty amazing. I look at her academic career like ripples in a pond - every student she taught who graduated from our program went on to teach incalculable numbers of children and adults with speech, language, cognitive, and swallowing disorders to communicate more effectively.

鈥淲hile 50 years is an unbelievable milestone, faculty, staff, and students in our school hope she will continue to serve the university and the Hattiesburg communities with her knowledge, skills, and expertise for many years to come.鈥�

Schaub is as inspired to continue with her work as much as on day one.

鈥淚 believe this profession lends itself to longevity, because you're able to treat all kinds of disorders, you're able to work in many different work environments, and you're able to treat clients across the lifespan,鈥� she said. 鈥淪o, there's always different challenges. It never gets boring. It's never 鈥業 have to go to work and do the same old thing.鈥� It鈥檚 always been special to me.

鈥淚 teach different classes every semester, I have different students, and usually, quite often, my clients also change and so it's always a new adventure. And I think that freshness of always having a new challenge is probably what's kept my interest for so very long.鈥�

For information about the USM Center for Communication and Development, please visit their website. For information about the USM School of Speech and Hearing Sciences, you can visit their website.