From Service to Supply Chain
Posted on November 12, 2026
An internship with APM Terminals at the Port of Mobile led to a full-time position
before Brandon Stewart had completed his degree. Today, he is an assistant operations
manager in APM’s marine department.
This story is featured in a 16-page special section, focused on the University of
South Alabama's Where Bold Begins campaign, in the November edition of Mobile Bay Magazine.
Brandon Stewart was a high school senior when the Sept. 11 attacks changed the direction
of his life. Wanting to serve his country, he joined the Army after graduation and
spent the next 10 years in the military.
After leaving the Army in 2014, Stewart worked as an electrical lineman in his native
Oklahoma. He moved to Mobile in 2023 to help care for his father and expected to continue
in that field. When the right opportunity failed to materialize, another veteran encouraged
him to consider a different path: using his GI Bill benefits to attend the University
of South Alabama.
Returning to school after nearly two decades felt daunting. South’s then Office of
Veterans Affairs (now the Office of Military Services) helped Stewart navigate the process and prepare to enroll that fall.
“It was so easy to go down there and talk to them,” he said. “They told me everything
I needed to do.”
Stewart, before graduating in 2025, was one of more than 1,000 military-affiliated
students at the University, a community that includes active-duty service members,
National Guard and Reserve members, veterans and military dependents. South is preparing
to give that growing community a more visible home on campus. A planned 7,200-square-foot
addition to the ROTC Building, which opened in 2024, will house the Office of Military
Services.
The office recruits military-affiliated students, helps them access financial assistance and other benefits, and supports them throughout their time at South. The University strengthened that outreach in 2024 by naming retired Army Sgt. Maj. David Blair director of the program.
The office recruits military-affiliated students, helps them access financial assistance and other benefits, and supports them throughout their time at South. The University strengthened that outreach in 2024 by naming retired Army Sgt. Maj. David Blair director of the program.
The expansion reflects the University’s commitment to serving the Gulf Coast’s substantial
military population. Alabama is home to 13,500 active-duty military personnel, more
than 26,700 National Guard and Reserve members and 339,300 veterans, with major military
installations located east and west of Mobile.
For students such as Stewart, that support can help turn the transition from military
service into an entirely new career.
At the Mitchell College of Business, Stewart’s uncertainty quickly disappeared. He discovered supply chain management
and found a field that immediately clicked. An internship with APM Terminals at the
Port of Mobile led to a full-time position before he had completed his degree.
Today, he is an assistant operations manager in APM’s marine department, helping plan
and oversee the movement of shipping containers through one of the nation’s busiest
ports.
“I’m super proud to have graduated from a university like South,” Stewart said. “There are so many opportunities that have stemmed from that.”
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