BOONE, N.C. — Tasse Little ’86 combines two of her passions — Appalachian State University and Habitat for Humanity — into her role on the planning team for App Builds a Home (ABAH), a partnership between Appalachian and Watauga County Habitat for Humanity to build a home in Boone’s GreenWood community.
Tasse Little and her husband, Rich Little ’85, of Charlotte, aren’t just Appalachian alumni — they are also parents of four Mountaineers. Three of their four sons — Will Little ’14, Jake Little ’15 and Ben Little ’17 — are alumni, and their youngest, Sam Little, is a senior majoring in physics.
Tasse Little has been an active alumna, serving the university since 1999, when she was selected to be on the College of Arts and Sciences Advancement Council, which includes a core group of volunteers who connect with and motivate others as supporters of Appalachian. She has been a member on the council for 20 years.
She has also served on Appalachian’s Board of Visitors and Alumni Council, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Appalachian’s Parent and Family Association. She is also an ex officio parent liaison to the Appalachian State University Foundation Inc. Board of Directors.
While attending a Board of Directors meeting for the Parent and Family Association this past spring, she heard an announcement about the ABAH project.
“I literally jumped out of my seat,” she said. “I knew immediately that I wanted to be involved.” Tasse Little has years of experience with Habitat for Humanity and said she was eager to serve on the ABAH planning team.
Her first Habitat build was in the 1990s. “I didn’t think I could do anything but paint, which is what I did for an afternoon of volunteering,” she said. “Now, I’ll get on a roof, install a closet, frame a wall, hang Sheetrock or move tubs around. I’ve gone from not thinking I could to anything on a job site to doing almost everything.”
Tasse Little has worked on 11 Habitat builds with her church in Charlotte, plus one Habitat for Humanity International build in Nepal. She joined the ABAH planning committee and advised the team about the mechanics of a blitz build.
Over the summer, she came to Boone from Charlotte a couple of times to work on other Watauga Habitat builds, and she participated in the ABAH blitz build weekend with the Habitat for Humanity Road Trip Crazies.
“It is so rewarding to meet and work with the partner families,” she said.
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About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Appalachian State University is home to 17 academic departments, two centers and one residential college. These units span the humanities and the social, mathematical and natural sciences. CAS aims to develop a distinctive identity built upon our university's strengths, traditions and locations. The college’s values lie not only in service to the university and local community, but through inspiring, training, educating and sustaining the development of its students as global citizens. More than 6,800 student majors are enrolled in the college. As the college is also largely responsible for implementing App State’s general education curriculum, it is heavily involved in the education of all students at the university, including those pursuing majors in other colleges. Learn more at https://cas.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.
