Alumni News Archive

  • Kenneth and Diamond Johnson got married in the chapel at USA Health University Hospital during his recovery after being hit by a pickup truck. Kenneth Johnson, a University police sergeant, has since returned to work. The couple has a 3-month-old daughter, Karis.
    Kenneth Johnson, who was struck by a truck in March, will celebrate Christmas at South after recovering from his injuries and returning to work as a University police sergeant. ...
  • University of South Alabama Commencement
    Gov. Kay Ivey and USA Health CEO Owen Bailey congratulate South's newest graduates and urge them to use their talents to serve others. ...
  • Barton Academy Principal Amanda Jones, a University of South Alabama graduate, stands in front of the new magnet school.
    South graduates, including Principal Amanda Jones, are remaking history this fall at Barton Academy. The first public school in Alabama has reopened as a magnet school with a focus on world studies. ...
  • South and USA Health raised $26,147,447 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, the largest total in its 58-year history. This record comes on the heels of the nearly $161 million raised during the University's 5-year Upward & Onward fundraising campaign.
    Nearly 4,500 donors help achieve a one-year fundraising record and supporting a wide range of USA and USA Health's missions. ...
  • Nate Riech competed for the track and field team at the University of South Alabama in 2015-16. He will compete at the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo.
    South graduate and runner Nate Riech used a childhood injury to fuel a competitive spirit that propelled him to first place in the 1,500-meter finals at the Paralympic Games. ...
  • John Quinones, ABC News correspondent and host of the television show "What Would You Do?" will speak at the University of South Alabama's Mitchell Center on Friday, October 1, 2021.
    ABC News correspondent and host of "What Would You Do" John Quinones is the keynote speaker during South's Alumni Weekend. ...
  • Three USA alumni were elected as new members of the National Alumni Association Board of Directors. Pictured from top (L-R) John Galanos, Mary Beth Massey and Mike Odair.
Additionally the USA National Alumni Association announced it's 2021 Faculty Excellence awards. 
Pictured middle (L-R) Dr. Stephanie Smallegan, Nan Young Perez Uribe and Dr. Bret Webb.
Bottom (L-R) FeAunté Preyear, Dr. Kevin White and Nicholas Brownlee
    Five USA faculty members are recognized for their achievements as well as one young alumnus. Three alumni also elected to USA National Alumni Association Board. ...
  • Muralist and University of South Alabama graduate Andy Scott's latest work is on the side of the USA Student Center — a bright mural in Pantone 281 and 193.
    South graduate Andy Scott makes his mark with retro signs and bold murals, including a USA Student Center painting that will serve as a perfect stop for a campus photo op. ...
  • Mollie Wade, outside Children's of Alabama where she got a job as a nurse, is starting her career on the night shift. “I think I’ve always been a night owl,” she says. “It’s kind of my place.”
    Mollie Wade, a graduate of South's Honors College, is bringing her education and a new set of sneakers to her nursing job at Children's of Alabama. #MyFirstJob ...
  • 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. ...