BOONE, N.C. — Twelve Appalachian State University students have been selected to participate in the William R. Holland International Business Fellowship program, which, since 1996, has provided exceptional opportunities to study the Asian business landscape.
Each fall, high-achieving business majors apply for the competitive two-semester fellowship. After submitting their nomination letters and completing a series of professional interviews, selected students participate in spring and summer courses and spend two weeks exploring business and culture across Asia. This year, the Holland Fellows will travel to Cambodia, Hong Kong and Vietnam.
App State’s 2026 Holland Fellows, pictured clockwise from top left: Lana Butler; Yauri Hatcher; David Itson; Lorena Moors Cely; Harley Locklear; Tyler Nece; Ethan Salemy; Lucas Schwinger; Ethan Truesdale; Charlie Van Winkle; Jadon Williams; and Oscar Yarbrough. Photos by Sabrina Cheves
“The Holland Fellows program exemplifies our commitment to preparing globally minded business leaders,” said Dr. Sandra Vannoy, dean of the Walker College of Business. “Through immersive international experiences and meaningful alumni engagement, our students gain the skills, confidence and perspective needed to lead in a rapidly evolving global economy.”
The 2026 fellows:
- Lana Butler, of Huntersville, a senior marketing major
- Yauri Hatcher, of Matthews, a sophomore international business major
- David Itson, of Charlotte, a senior accounting major
- Lorena Moors Cely, of Gastonia, a junior management major
- Harley Locklear, of Laurel Hill, a senior economics major
- Tyler Nece, of Wilmington, a senior double majoring in management-sustainable business and sustainable development
- Ethan Salemy, of Raleigh, a junior accounting major
- Lucas Schwinger, of Raleigh, a senior accounting major
- Ethan Truesdale, of Chapel Hill, a senior management major
- Charlie Van Winkle, of Chapel Hill, a senior economics major
- Jadon Williams, of Harrisburg, a senior accounting major
- Oscar Yarbrough, of Charlotte, a senior economics major
App State’s Holland Fellows participate in spring and summer courses in Peacock Hall before spending two weeks exploring business and culture across Asia. Photo submitted
Program evolves to adapt to changing global business landscape
Named for the late businessman William "Bill" Holland, the Holland Fellows program began as a short-term exchange for students at App State and Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
The program provided aspiring business leaders at both universities with opportunities to conduct joint studies and to learn each other’s traditions and culture. Programs often focused on a specific business topic or sector, including the automobile industry and U.S. and Chinese labor markets.
Today, the program has evolved from an exchange with a single university in China to an opportunity for App State students to interact with local and global industry leaders in multiple destinations across Asia. The curriculum is designed to grapple with 21st-century business concepts and challenges, including circular economy practices and resilience against disruptions.
Jesse Pipes, senior lecturer in the Department of Management and designer and facilitator for the Holland Fellows program, noted that the vision for a reimagined Holland Fellows program started in 2020. Pandemic-related restrictions led to expanded virtual components, which continue to benefit the program today even as travel has returned to normal. As restrictions eased in some parts of the world, Pipes planned new destinations and discovered a wealth of business contacts with connections to App State, ready to support Mountaineers’ journeys.
“As the world transitioned into a more hybrid working environment, there was an opportunity to forge deeper connections with program alumni and with global companies,” Pipes said.
App State’s 2025 Holland Fellows are pictured in Hong Kong. Photo submitted
In 2020 and 2021, the fellows collaborated virtually with executives at Kontoor Brands, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes apparel for brands such as Wrangler and Lee, to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with doing business in a global context. When the program received the go-ahead to resume international travel in 2024, the fellows reconnected with the company, attending in-person presentations with executives at Kontoor’s Greensboro and Hong Kong headquarters.
The 2022 cohort worked with representatives from the Asia Institute and Rinjani Mountain Coffee Co. in Indonesia. They were tasked with creating a sustainable business plan that utilized local infrastructure to transform coffee byproducts into profitable products. Their work focused on practical solutions for coffee plant waste, and they developed a business and marketing plan suited to the island’s environment and culture.
Recent cohorts have further examined challenges in the retail and apparel industries. To provide a contrast between small and large businesses and local and global supply chains, the program connected with UNIFI, a synthetics company that transforms post-consumer bottles into textiles. The students reviewed business models, learned about the organization’s challenges and walked through the company’s production processes aimed at reducing waste and promoting a circular economy.
“This gave me new perspectives and a deep understanding of sustainability, far beyond what I had known from clothing tags and surface-level information,” said App State alumna and 2024 Holland Fellow Emily Wilson ’25, who earned bachelor’s degrees in computer information systems and cybersecurity from App State in spring 2025.
Pipes also connected with Bill Johnston, co-founder of Charlotte-based Recover Brands, to explore how local supply chains work. Johnston escorted the fellows on a visit that included North Carolina-based mills, dye houses, UNIFI, and Material Return, an organization that collects and recycles post-consumer and post-production textile waste, providing circular textile solutions for brands.
“This industry focus allows our students to connect the history of North Carolina textiles with today’s global value chains,” Pipes said. “These tangible experiences equip our students with the confidence to understand and evaluate real business situations faced by both local and global companies.”
App State’s 2024 Holland Fellows are pictured with program leaders Jesse Pipes, senior lecturer in the Department of Management and designer and facilitator for the university’s William R. Holland International Business Fellowship program, far left, Matt Dull, App State’s deputy chief operating officer, second from right, and Wendy Deng, university program specialist in App State’s Brantley Risk and Insurance Center, far right, at Kontoor Brands’ Hong Kong headquarters. Photo submitted
As the program turns 30 years old this year, participants benefit from a growing network of Holland Fellows and App State alumni, some of whom have served as guest speakers or helped connect the program to new business partnerships around the world.
Parkway Capital Founder and Chief Investment Officer Dan Rupp, a native of Boone, hosted the students in Hong Kong, and MOAM Group co-founders Preston Powell ’01 and Adam Scherer ’01 — alumni of the Holland Fellows program — provided students an immersive experience, with access to start-up and advanced manufacturing facilities in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
“Seeing how major companies manufacture goods in Cambodia that we use daily was such a valuable experience,” said 2024 Holland Fellow Gavin Little ’25.
Holland Fellows alumni Brad Sparks ’97 ’98, executive director of the Accounting for Sustainability Foundation, and Michael McSwain ’10, director of government and public affairs for Nike, share their professional insights as guest speakers.
Other Holland Fellows program alumni have served as mentors to the students, helping them evaluate and improve their research projects, including Aaron Bobo ’07, director of Mediterranean - Middle East & Asia Market for A.P. Moller - Maersk, Sarah Lawall ’13, senior account manager for QBE Europe, and JC Payne ’12, manager for Jennings Cook & Co.
“This opportunity provided me with confidence in my abilities and career goals,” said 2024 Holland Fellow Amber Waddle ’24, who earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from App State in 2024 and is now pursuing an App State master’s degree in applied data analytics. “I didn’t have a clear understanding of what I wanted to do until this class and trip inspired me with direction and purpose.”
Learn more about the Holland Fellows program and how to apply at hollandfellows.appstate.edu.
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About the Walker College of Business
The Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University delivers transformational educational experiences that prepare and inspire students to be ethical, innovative and engaged business leaders who positively impact their communities, both locally and globally. The college places emphasis on international experiences, sustainable business practices, entrepreneurial programs and real-world applications with industry. Enrolling nearly 5,000 students, including more than 4,500 undergraduates across 11 majors, the Walker College of Business has the highest full-time undergraduate enrollment in the University of North Carolina System. App State’s Walker College is accredited by AACSB International — the premier global accrediting body for business schools. Learn more at https://business.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.
