Alumni

App State alumni Masa and Seleen Al Horani. Photo by Chase Reynolds

Meet graduates Masa and Seleen Al Horani ’26
May 14, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University celebrated the achievements of more than 4,300 graduates — the largest graduating class in university h...

App State Chancellor Heather Norris, third from right, and App State Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Neva J. Specht, third from left, with the 2026 Ronny L. Brooks Leadership Award recipients at App State’s 2026 Awards of Distinction ceremony, held April 28 on the Boone campus. Pictured with Norris and Specht, from left to right, are App State seniors Courtney Castellow and Daye Talley, Rhonda Bullock, daughter of Ronny L. Brooks, and her husband, John Bullock, and App State senior David Itson. Photo

29 Mountaineers honored with 2026 App State Awards of Distinction
May 4, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University honored 29 students, faculty and staff during its fourth annual Awards of Distinction ceremony,...

Taylor Dills, Liz Kunkel, and Ralph Lentz II

Former students turned professors: App State alums reflect on their return to the High Country [faculty featured]
May 1, 2026

During fall break of 1999, Ralph Lentz was a new professor at Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute. One Saturday night, he received a ca...

The Department of Computer Science logo featuring the block A with two lines of text underneath it: The first line reads

App State students harness artificial intelligence to fight glaucoma
Mar 24, 2026

Mountaineer Discovery: This story is part of a series highlighting student research, creativity and innovation at App State. Join the Office of Studen...

Savannah Devine ‘22

CAS alumna finds purpose in her work to understand volcanoes
Mar 23, 2026

Mountaineer Discovery: This story is part of a series highlighting student research, creativity and innovation at App State. Join the Office of Studen...

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Support the College of Arts and Sciences during Appalachian State Giving Day 2026
Mar 12, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's biggest annual day of giving is back for its 13th year with a new look and name: Appalachian State Givi...

Dr. Matt Estep (left) and Alex O'Neill ’19 ’21 (right)

App State researchers study genetic diversity of Western North Carolina’s Timber Rattlesnakes
Mar 6, 2026

BOONE, N.C. — A group of researchers from Appalachian State University's Department of Biology and Department of Geography and Planning recently aut...

Alaina Krakowiak and Laura Boggess, both longtime sport and trad climbers from the Southeast, are using their skills to search for rare grasslands. All photos courtesy of Krakowiak

The Search for Vertical Grasslands [alumni featured]
Mar 5, 2026

In March of 2024, Alaina Krakowiak and Laura Boggess sat in a field in the town of Cumberland Gap, Tenn., and took turns looking through a high-powere...

Among Julia Castellano’s sourdough starters is Dough-P Jr., created from the one used by her mentor in France. Customers can purchase portions of Dough-P Jr. weekly, Thursday to Sunday.

Wilmington’s Bread Whisperer [alumna featured]
Jan 8, 2026

“Sorry, Julia, but … Sue’s exploding.”Julia Castellano, owner of Little Loaf Bakery & Schoolhouse in Wilmington, smiles at her f...

Two-time App State alumnus and former U.S. Army Special Operations Ranger Dan Blakeley ’15 ’18, who served in the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, speaks at the university’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony, held Nov. 11 in the B.B. Dougherty Administration Building on App State’s Boone campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds

App State alumnus Dan Blakeley ’15 ’18 helps veterans find their voice
Nov 17, 2025

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University held its annual Veterans Day Ceremony on Tuesday, Nov. 11, to honor the men and women who have served in ...