TRIBUTE TO MARY SCHAUB

TRIBUTE TO MARY SCHAUB

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S519-S520] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS ______ TRIBUTE TO MARY SCHAUB Mr. WICKER. Madam President, on behalf of the people of Mississippi, I commend Mary Schaub, an educator in Hattiesburg, MS. Through her five-decade career as a speech-language pathologist, she has devoted her life to giving children a voice. Mary was integral to the creation of the Children's Center for Communication and Development at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), and she has faithfully served the center for many years. After completing her education at the University of Wyoming, Mary identified a crucial gap in Mississippi's education system: preschool children who needed language intervention before entering kindergarten. She designed a program to fill that divide. The initiative was first called the Preschool Language Program and served six local preschool-aged children in a small office space on USM's campus. Since those humble beginnings, the program has blossomed. Now called the [[Page S520]] Children's Center, it serves an average of 140 children every year, from infants to 5-year-olds. The children benefit from comprehensive services that include speech therapy, special instruction, social work, audiology, auditory-verbal therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. In short, Mary has revolutionized the treatment Mississippi's children receive when they are struggling with complex communication disorders. Mary's work continues today. She is helping facilitate the growth of the center through a position on its advisory board. She also teaches as a professor in the School of Speech and Hearing Sciences at USM's College of Nursing and Health Professions. Mrs. Schaub's career is a testament to the impact one educator can have on countless lives. I join my fellow Mississippians in thanking Mrs. Mary Schaub for her half-century of work in the classroom and for the gift of speech that she has given to thousands of children. ____________________