MHS Seniors have chosen their commencement speaker, and it is none other than our very own Laurie Schroeder. Mrs. Schroeder is asking all of her former students to attend graduation if they are able.
Laurie Schuette Schroeder may not have been born and raised in Mart, TX, but it can certainly be said that her Mart roots do run deep and she moved here about as quickly as she could. Her mother, Doris Strunck Schuette grew up in Mart, and attended Mart High School. Her grandmother was beloved Martite, Goldie Strunck. Back in Laurie’s middle school days she would load up with family in their Winnebago and travel to all the Mart Panther Football games to watch her cousins play. There began her love for the Purple & Gold. That love was solidified when she met her husband, MHS Class of 1979 graduate David Schroeder. Upon their marriage in August 1981, she made the move to Mart where she has resided ever since.
Laurie was actually a 1981 graduate of rival Crawford High School where she was a spirited Pirate Basketball Player and well accomplished Majorette. After moving to Mart she held several jobs around town including church secretary at the First Methodist Church of Mart and Bank Teller at the then Farmers & Merchants Bank. She also spent time as a stay at home mother to her 2 children Leslie Schroeder Murphy who is a 2002 graduate of MHS and Cody Schroeder, MHS class of 2005.
In 1991, she officially started with Mart ISD as a substitute teacher. She subbed nearly every day that year and even took over for a couple of teachers’ 6 weeks leaves of absence. She soon realized that the High School was her favorite place to sub. The very next year when her son Cody started Kindergarten, she was hired to be the High School Secretary. As secretary for Mart High School she has been through several generations of students. She prides herself in being the local historian who is able to follow the family trees of so many. In her years at Mart High she has worked under 14 principals and graduated 1, 413 students, including the class of 2023. While she loves her office in the new school, the old High School building where she officed for 25 years will always hold a very special place in her heart.
While she will always be most known for her radiant smile and infectious laugh in the office of Mart High School, her Panther Spirit is second to none. She served as the Cheer Sponsor/Coach for both Varsity and JV Cheerleaders for 17 years. During this time she helped paint untold amounts of the famous run thru signs and drove many miles with her girls supporting the Mighty Mart Panthers. She also has served as the Assistant One Act Play Director since 2002. In both of these extra jobs she made a multitude of memories and connections with kids that she will always cherish. She even suggests that the “Cheer Sponsor” section of the book she wants to write about her time at MHS will definitely be a page turner!
Even though the biggest part of her life has been spent as the secretary at Mart High School, she looks forward to spending this next chapter being Lollie to her 4 wonderful grandchildren, Landry & Lynley Murphy who are also Mart Panthers, and Everett & Adelyn Schroeder who, while they reside in Round Rock, love to cheer for the Purple & Gold every chance they get.
Make sure and attend graduation on Friday, May 26th at 7pm in the high school gym to hear our beloved school secretary address the senior class.