A Career Aligned with a Creative Spirit
Posted on June 18, 2025
Lakelyn Tinsley started work as a junior designer at Mobile marketing firm Hummingbird Ideas immediately after graduating. And she says she owes it all to South.
When she walked into her first visual arts class at the University, she felt something she hadn’t in a long time. She felt like herself again.
A year before, she was a biochemical engineering major at another university. But after just one semester, something was off. It didn’t feel like home. The major didn’t spark anything in her. She pushed through the start of another semester before finishing out the year at a community college near her home on the Mississippi Gulf Coast..
“It was just a bad year,” she said. “It was really discouraging to not like or feel at home in the college I centered my plans around for so long.”
Back home, Tinsley began to rethink everything. She transferred to South, where she could still pay in-state tuition — the University extends that advantage to students through a wide swath of the Gulf Coast region — and be close to family. One of her close friends had already enrolled at South, which helped ease the transition.
She didn’t have a clear plan, only a strong gut feeling she’d had since she was a child: At her core, she was creative. She was an artist.
“I decided I was going to make being a creative my job,” she said. “I had neglected that part of me for far too long.”
She didn’t even check to see if South had a graphic design program before applying. “I just knew it was where I needed to be,” she said. “The whole story sounds a bit clueless — which I absolutely was at 19 — but I felt called to come to South and be a graphic designer.”
It worked out.
“The day I started classes in the visual arts department, I felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be,” she said.
Studio classes and design projects gave her direction and a renewed sense of energy. “I was happy and fulfilled,” she said, “and I was really good at design.”
Now, Tinsley spends her days in the airy office of Hummingbird Ideas — a renovated corner building in historic downtown Mobile with lofty ceilings, sunlight pouring in from tall windows and exposed brick walls. Creative colleagues surround her; several are fellow South grads.
She works on a mix of web, print and digital projects for clients across the region. In her first few weeks, she focused on helping lighten the load for the firm’s lead web designer.
“I started a week after graduation. I’ve mostly been working on web projects and conference materials, just kind of jumping in where I’m needed,” she said. “Every day is different, and I love that.”
The job became a reality on the night that marked the culmination of her years as a student.
“I was quite literally given the job offer at my final thesis exhibition,” she said. “In the art department, that’s akin to graduation.”
Tinsley is quick to credit South’s faculty and community for helping her find the confidence to pursue a creative career, despite skepticism from others.
“I did have people in my life who didn’t think I’d find a job in this field,” she said. “But I knew this was what I was meant to do.”
Mentorship from faculty members, including Diane Gibbs, Matt Johnson and Alma Hoffmann gave her the tools, insight and network to thrive.
“South’s art department is a hidden gem, full of world-class talent and education opportunities for artists,” she said.
Today, Tinsley feels firmly rooted in the career she once thought she would never be able to pursue.
“It’s exactly the kind of agency I’ve always wanted to be a part of,” she said of Hummingbird Ideas. “And I get to do the kind of work I love every day.”
