Bridges Takes on Assistant Director Role at USM’s Children’s Center
Fri, 01/28/2022 - 09:00am | By: Courtney Tesh
Monica Bridges, Speech-Language Pathologist at The Children’s Center for Communication
and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), has been promoted
to Assistant Director. Bridges has been with The Children’s Center for more than 11
years and has served as both Speech-Language Pathologist and Transition Coordinator.
As SLP she has helped countless babies and children ages 0-5 with disabilities learn to communicate with the world around them and has helped many of those same little ones overcome feeding troubles as well. And along the way, Bridges has coached and counseled families, guiding them through what is often a scary and daunting time in their lives.
As Transition Coordinator, she found herself guiding many of those same families during yet another time of uncertainty and overwhelm. When a child graduates from The Children’s Center at age 5 and moves on to the next chapter in their lives, Bridges acts as an invaluable resource helping the family navigate that first year in the public school system, private schooling, or home schooling. She also provides support for the teachers and administrators who will be part of the team of professionals helping that child succeed.
Bridges’s titles may read SLP and Transition Coordinator, but the roles she has played and continues to play in families lives far surpasses her titles. And now she has added the title of Assistant Director to this list.
“Monica has far exceeded expectations and goes above and beyond in everything she does for her families, for other professionals whose paths she crosses, and for the staff at the Center,” said Sarah Myers, Director at The Children’s Center. “And I have no doubt that the same will be true of this new role for her. We are so fortunate to have her on our team and I am excited and encouraged to see what the future holds for The Children’s Center with her in this role. I couldn’t think of a person better suited to lead this team alongside me.”
When asked what the new role means to her, Bridges said, “I am so excited to have the opportunity to serve as Assistant Director for The Children's Center for Communication and Development. I truly love my job and feel blessed to get to work with such amazing children and families every day.”
About The Children’s Center for Communication and Development
The Children’s Center for Communication and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi is a non-profit that provides cost-free comprehensive early intervention therapy for children age 0-5 with complex disabilities while educating, training and supporting families, university students and professionals. For more information, visit www.usm.edu/childrenscenter.