Clicking into Place
Posted on October 14, 2025
Mobilian Campbell Harper chose to attend the University of South Alabama because it felt like the right place to grow, personally and professionally. She didn’t arrive with a fixed career path, but she did know that she enjoyed solving problems, working with people and organizing chaos into structure.
Information systems turned out to be the perfect fit, and it all started with Intro to Programming.
“I fell in love with the challenge and creativity of building something out of nothing,” she said.
A summer entrepreneurship and leadership program in the Netherlands gave her the confidence to pursue a career that would allow her to see the world.
Now, she’s found that at IBM. Since June, Campbell has worked as a process adoption consultant at the company’s Baton Rouge, Louisiana, office, helping organizations adopt new technologies and navigate change.
Her background in theater and stage management reinforced that sense of fit. Years of managing teams and logistics behind the scenes gave her the confidence and skills to thrive in technology and project management. At South, she further developed that experience as co-chair of Jaguar Women in Technology, where she helped relaunch the student organization and establish a community for women in STEM.
On the job, the pace was faster than she expected.
“I thought I’d be observing at first, but I was immediately thrown into projects, solving problems, and contributing,” she said. “Every client is different, and every project brings new challenges. I love that it keeps me on my toes.”
Looking back, she credits the faculty at South with giving her the foundation and encouragement she needed before she even settled on a major.
“I walked into my very first programming class having very little coding experience and told myself that if it didn’t work out, I would just change majors. I almost gave up on tech before I even started,” she said. “But it was taught in such a logical, structured way. Approaching each problem with what felt like a method to the madness helped everything make sense and click for me.”
Her advice for current students? “Don’t be afraid to try something new. Say yes to opportunities, even small ones. Keep track of your accomplishments, and remember growth isn’t always linear. Every step teaches you something valuable.”
