Catawba College Alumnus Harper Holland '78, wife Michele, and their 10-year-old son, Christopher of Lake Mary, Fla., have established a new scholarship at the college in honor of Holland's parents. Preference for the Clyde and Daphne Holland Endowed Scholarship will be given to students from Sampson County High School and preferably from Lakewood High School.
"I wanted to do something so that my parents can enjoy it and know that there's something left behind for them that will have a positive effect in their community," Holland explained. "With this scholarship established in their honor, there will always be a link to Catawba College from Sampson County, my hometown of Roseboro, and my parents.
Holland's father celebrated his 80th birthday this past summer, and at party Harper and Michele Holland gave in his honor, his parents were told of the scholarship. "They were very taken aback and very honored," Holland remembered. "This was something they didn't expect."
Both natives of Sampson County, Clyde and Daphne Holland are described by their son as "very caring, loving, giving people." Clyde Holland, a retired funeral director, grew up in Salemburg, while Daphne, a retired florist, grew up in Roseboro. Both are active in the Roseboro Methodist Church and have thrived in the county where they were born and raised their only son. Until the couple sent Harper to Catawba College, they had no connection to the institution, but now, thanks to the scholarship they do.
"They love Catawba and know how much I love it," Holland, a member of the football team while at Catawba, said. "I've always been connected to the college, but it seems like I've been even more connected to it over the last 10 or 15 years. Looking back, it seems it was a very short stay that I had there, but I enjoyed it. I may have left Catawba as a student, but I have not left Catawba."
Holland is the owner of Holland Sales, Inc. (National Manufacturers Representative Company). Holland Sales, Inc. is based in Lake Mary, Fla. His wife Michele is a native of Cedarburg, Wis., and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. She is Vice-President / Director Sales of CBS Radio in Orlando.
"We are so grateful to alumni like Harper who seek to give back to their alma mater in ways which acknowledge their roots while enhancing the institution. This scholarship is a unique birthday gift and one that will keep on giving to future generations of students from Sampson County," said Catawba Senior Vice President Tom Childress.
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