Lindsey Breaux: Inspiring leadership in communication sciences and disorders

Lindsey Breaux is from the coastal town of Beaufort, South Carolina. For most of her life, she’s kept herself busy. She discovered her passion for service and helping those with communication disorders early in her educational career.

“I’ve always been gravitating to that field,” she said. “My sister had friends over who had a younger sibling who had autism. When my sister and her friend played, I would play with her younger brother. There was something there that really drew me to him.”

Like many in her graduating class, Breaux wasn’t afforded a high school graduation due to the pandemic.

After a virtual high school graduation, she turned her attention to preparing for her first semester at Georgia Southern University. As excited as she was to begin, she was a member of the first freshman class during the pandemic. Suddenly, a student whose life centered around community involvement was left with one roommate and restricted interactions with fellow students.

“I remember it was really hard to meet people other than my roommate because we weren’t even allowed to have people over,” she recalled. “All of the classes started out on Zoom, so I couldn’t even connect with any of my classmates. It was really challenging.”

As COVID restrictions were lifted, she immersed herself in various Georgia Southern student organizations, including the National Student Speech, Language, and Hearing Association and the Student Alumni Association. Breaux’s dedication to service extended beyond campus, volunteering with organizations like the Savannah Speech and Hearing Center.

Among those accomplishments was an Eagle Excellence Award for her community service work for speech therapy in Georgia and while in Belize during the summer of 2023. She said she wouldn’t have developed her talents, accomplished her accolades nor seen the world had it not been for Georgia Southern.

“I feel like I have a lot to show for my four years here,” she said. “I’ve been looking back on a lot of my older pictures recently, and I think it’s a reflection on how much I’ve grown and how freshman, 18-year-old Lindsay would be really proud of all that I’ve accomplished.”

However, her impact at the University is far from over. After collecting her diploma, she will return to Georgia Southern to earn a Master’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Soon, she will go from celebrating a high school graduation with no ceremony to celebrating two with Georgia Southern.