Alumni News Archive

  • DeVonte’ Dixon, a South meteorology graduate, took at job at Fox 55 News in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and will be an on-air weekend meteorologist.
    DeVonte' Dixon, influenced by the deadly tornado outbreak of April 2011, heads north for broadcasting job at Fox 55 News in Indiana. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Darcey D’Amato recently took a job as a systems engineer in the aerospace division at Boeing. Her advice to students preparing for a job search: “I tell everybody: Go to conferences. Go to career fairs. Talk to recruiters.”
    Satellite projects at South helped an engineering graduate land an internship with the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab and a position with Boeing in Seattle. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Kyle Samuel gained a great deal of sports broadcasting experience, working on Jag TV and ESPN+ productions, while a student at the University of South Alabama.
    A South graduate uses his college broadcasting experience to land a job doing graphics and editing for NASCAR coverage at Fox Sports 1. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Merritt McCall's duties with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources include building, seeding and monitoring oyster beds in state waters. she recently earned her master's degree in marine science from the University of South Alabama.
    Marine scientist Merritt McCall turns her experience at South and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab into a fisheries job with the state of Mississippi. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Taylor Dicker, a graduate of the University of South Alabama School of Computing, moved from an internship to fulltime employment and now works from home, which he says fits his style. At his job at TruBridge, Dicker is getting a diversity of experience.
    Taylor Dicker, who was named outstanding undergraduate in the School of Computing, begins his career as a system administrator. One of his secrets? 'I was always the one with my hand up.' #MyFirstJob ...
  • Broderick Morrissette was a graduate assistant in the University of South Alabama Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, where he has started as its first Campus to Career coordinator.
    Broderick Morrissette was inspired by his grandmother. Two degrees later, he's helping others achieve their goals as South's Campus to Career coordinator. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Katelyn Cowie said an entry level accounting course, along with an internship at Horton, Lee, Burnett, Peacock, Cleveland and Grainger, helped launch the course of her professional career.
    After four years at South, where she ran cross country, worked as a tutor and ambitiously pursued what became an eventful internship, Katelyn Cowie begins a career in accounting. #MyFirstJob ...
  • Navy Rear Admiral Gayle Shaffer, a 1987 biology graduate of the University of South Alabama, is the first dentist to serve as Deputy Surgeon General.
    Rear Admiral Gayle Shaffer, a 1987 biology graduate, went on to join the Navy, travel the world and become the first dentist to serve as deputy surgeon general. “It’s not every day you have a sorority sister who’s an admiral, right? ...
  • Civil rights activist and native Mobilian Bob Zellner will speak at the University of South Alabama about his life’s work of fighting for justice in the freedom movement with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mrs. Rosa Parks and many others.
    Prominent civil rights activist Bob Zellner, a native of Mobile, will speak at the University of South Alabama April 28th, 2021. ...
  • Tara Keech, a 2006 graduate of the University of South Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, is the founder of Tarah Keech Coaching, which is focused on helping professionals overcome the challenges of insecurity, anxiety and stress.
    Tarah Keech, who earned a psychology degree from South, had to learn to refocus from burnout. Now she's made it her life's work to help other professionals manage challenges of insecurity, anxiety and stress. ...
  • Port City Pups owner Bailey Duos, who graduated from South’s entrepreneur program last year, had to adjust expectations when dog boarding dried up during the pandemic. “I definitely matured really fast. I’m a little more careful now,” she said.
    South business graduates and professors describe how a crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic drives companies and nonprofits to leave their comfort zones, manage disruption and look for new growth opportunities. ...
  • Wilson Thomas studied management and political science for a degree in interdisciplinary studies. His career in hospital administration now includes managing coronavirus care and administering vaccines.
    Wilson Thomas studied management and political science for a degree in interdisciplinary studies. His career in hospital administration now includes managing coronavirus care and administering vaccines. ...
  • With Mardi Gras canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, South alumnae Suzanne Sarver, left, and Courtney Harris, right, joined with Mitchell College of Business Ph.D. student Stacy Wellborn to begin the Mobile Porch Parade. Wellborn's home features monsters from the children’s book, “Where the Wild Things Are.”
    With Mardi Gras parades canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, two alumnae and a Ph.D. candidate find a new way to celebrate the Carnival season. ...
  • 2020 Mobile County Public Schools Teachers of the Year. From L-R; Anna Mouton, Clark-Shaw School of Math, Science and Technology. Julie Neidhardt, Hutchens Elementary School. Deborah Pippen, Citronelle High School.
    A trio of women, who earned degrees from South have now been named the best of the best in the Mobile County Public Schools. ...
  • Terrance Smith stands in front of a house on Virginia Street that's being renovated through the work of the Mobile Innovation Team, a project funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. The home at one point was used by Mobile's Pollman family as a kitchen for their bakery before they opened the nearby Pollman's Bake Shop, said Smith, the innovation team director and a University of South Alabama graduate.
    Growing up in public housing, Terrance Smith now sits in the mayor's suite on the 10th floor of Government Plaza. There, he is earning a reputation as a skilled problem solver. ...
  • Les’Lee Gilberry, left, and Cassandra Kellum were inspired to start a pair of annual scholarships for student-athletes at South. The awards will be called SWAG, short for Student With Athletic Grit.
    Former USA runners Cassandra Kellum and Les'Lee Gilberry get a jump start on two scholarships to support student-athletes. ...
  • Briana Morris, the Sun Belt Conference's 2019-20 Female Student-Athlete of the Year, is scheduled to play in the spring 2021 season for Danish soccer team Aarhus Gymnastikforening Kvindefodbold, more commonly known as AGF. Photo courtesy of Briana Morris.
    Accounting graduate student, alumna and student-athlete of the year Briana Morris readies to take the field in Denmark. ...
  • Since 1998, the University and USA Health have raised over $5.5 million for the United Way of Southwest Alabama through its annual campaign.
    More than 1,700 University of South Alabama and USA Health employees and retirees contribute to the United Way annual campaign. ...
  • Former South student Benjamin Pelham outside of his trailer on the set of the film "Embattled."
    Former PASSAGE USA student Benjamin Pelham continues to overcome challenges and appears in the film ‘Embattled.’ ...
  • Jake and Pat Gosa pledged $5 million to the University of South Alabama. The gift will be split between the Mitchell College of Business and the College of Nursing.
    The donation from Jake and Pat Gosa will be split between the Mitchell College of Business and the College of Nursing. ...
  • Bailey Trout Stephenson, a 2018 graduate of the University of South Alabama College of Nursing, worked in a Brooklyn hospital in the spring, taking care of COVID-19 patients in an intensive care unit. The work, like the virus, could be unforgiving. “I was there to help save the life of each patient I cared for, and that didn’t happen,” she said.
    College of Nursing graduate Bailey Trout Stephenson confronted the pandemic in a New York hospital. The battle continued at home. ...
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    South exceeds fundraising goal with more than 23,000 donations to support academics, research, athletics and healthcare. ...
  • University of South Alabama Police Officer Roy Mendenhall, sitting in front of the Humanities Building where he once took classes, earned a degree in criminal justice in 2016. He's one of three officers at South who graduated from the University that same year.
    Roy Mendenhall, like most officers in the USA Police Department, graduated from South. He found a career, and a wider world. ...
  • Nila Clardy took part in South's first commencement in 1967, beginning a long family connection with the University.
    A move to Mobile changed Nila Clardy's college plans and began a generational connection to the University of South Alabama. ...
  • 2009 South graduate, Jaysum Hunter completed a 21-day, 1,000-mile bike ride from his home in Chicago to his hometown of Mobile.
    Looking to inspire others, South alumnus Jaysum Hunter put his career on temporary hold to take an epic bicycle journey. ...