Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
Jordan Sjol
The Perfect Place for Filmmaking

Jordan Sjol

Jordan Sjol may be relatively new to the DePauw University faculty, but as assistant professor of film…

Meet Jordan Sjol
Gerard Pannekoek
The Unifying Power of Art

Gerard Pannekoek

“Art is a great place to start a conversation,” says Gerard Pannekoek ’11. “It’s a place to build trust…

Meet Gerard Pannekoek
Ha Chu
Pivotal Moments

Ha Chu

“It changed my life,” says Ha Chu ’26, recalling an interaction early in her time at DePauw with Larry…

Meet Ha Chu
Layla Brown-Clark
Making the Pitch

Layla Brown-Clark

During an admitted student day, I fell in love with DePauw’s campus as a whole and DePauw’s media-rich…

Meet Layla Brown-Clark
John Berry
Innovative Artistry

John Berry

Success and accomplishment flow from the challenging work done in the classroom and studio at DePauw…

Meet John Berry
Kay Sikana
Finding Their Voice

Kay Sikana

“A big part of my identity is my pan-African upbringing,” says Kandafula (Kay) Sikana ’25. Born in Zambia…

Meet Kay Sikana
Daniel Villa
Where Opportunity Meets Hustle

Daniel Villa

Daniel Villa ’26 never envisioned himself spending a winter term in another country. It’s not that the…

Meet Daniel Villa
Hanna Coffel
A Life-Changing Invitation

Hanna Coffel

When DePauw’s softball coach invited Hanna Coffel ’26 to campus as a high school sophomore, it was the…

Meet Hanna Coffel
 Sarah Rowley
Fostering Personal Connections

Sarah Rowley

What excites me about teaching? Everything! The magic that happens in the classroom is completely dependent…

Meet Sarah Rowley
Scott Wilkerson
Applied learning. Real solutions.

Scott Wilkerson

Out of graduate school, I worked for 3.5 years gaining invaluable experience with Exxon Production Research…

Meet Scott Wilkerson
Rafael Toro-Quiñones
Joy at the Intersection of Music and Service

Rafael Toro-Quiñones

“I’m kicking myself for dropping a leadership class with Dr. McKelligan,” laughs Rafael Toro-Quiñones…

Meet Rafael Toro-Quiñones
Greg Schwipps
Working Together

Greg Schwipps

I am a DePauw professor but also a 1995 DePauw alumnus. I started my first-year at DePauw a would-be…

Meet Greg Schwipps
Ibilola Fasogbon
Appetite for Discovery

Ibilola Fasogbon

Ibilola Fasogbon ’28 has always been driven by curiosity and adventure. As a child, she found nearly…

Meet Ibilola Fasogbon
Eliana Jolanda Alzate
Speak Now

Eliana Jolanda Alzate

“Why International Student Orientation is Essentially a Taylor Swift Concert.” Eliana Jolanda Alzate…

Meet Eliana Jolanda Alzate
Sharon Crary
Global Impact

Sharon Crary

Professor Sharon Crary has studied the devastating effects of the Ebola virus for 15 years. Since the…

Meet Sharon Crary
Andrew Brown
Promoting Peace Through Music

Andrew Brown

I chose DePauw because it is the kind of place where students can explore fields of studies that are…

Meet Andrew Brown
Naima Shifa
Building Connections

Naima Shifa

The biggest part of my teaching is building connections with my students and creating a community in…

Meet Naima Shifa
Maggie Perry
Art for All

Maggie Perry

The Brooklyn Museum. The Art Institute of Chicago. The Sarah Gormley Gallery in Columbus, Ohio. Anyone…

Meet Maggie Perry
Kate Pederson
Endless Opportunities

Kate Pederson

I chose DePauw because of all the opportunities here. A few aspects that stuck out to me were the Management…

Meet Kate Pederson
Elisha Amadasu
Wisdom and Probability

Elisha Amadasu

Growing up in Brooklyn, Elisha Amadasu ’26 identified his intellectual passion at a young age. “Math…

Meet Elisha Amadasu
Erika Marchant
Empowering Change

Erika Marchant

Because of my interest in Chinese language, culture, history and philosophy, I declared a major in Chinese…

Meet Erika Marchant
Moeez Islam Malik
Initiative and Empathy

Moeez Islam Malik

“I never knew that I would be a leader,” admits Moeez Islam Malik ’27. Yet just a few years into his…

Meet Moeez Islam Malik
Marwa Aarab
Enriching a Global Perspective

Marwa Aarab

As an international student keen on medicine and research, I chose DePauw University after careful examination…

Meet Marwa Aarab
Tanner Austin
From Guernsey to Greencastle

Tanner Austin

“I came out here on a limb,” says Tanner Austin ’28. “It's just unbelievably lucky how it all worked…

Meet Tanner Austin
Andrea Sununu
The Difference is in the Details

Andrea Sununu

For over 30 years I’ve taught literature at DePauw and welcomed the chance to serve not only as teacher…

Meet Andrea Sununu
Craig Paré
A Collaborative Approach

Craig Paré

I love that our students come to classes and rehearsals hungry to learn and, when challenged, respond…

Meet Craig Paré
Deepa Prakash
Embracing Unpredictable Moments

Deepa Prakash

What excites me about teaching is the opportunity to discuss and learn about the pressing issues that…

Meet Deepa Prakash
Meru Sharma
Community Builder. Documentarian.

Meru Sharma

At DePauw, I was a Media Fellow. I was lucky enough to go off-campus for a semester to the New York Arts…

Meet Meru Sharma
Elise Johns
A Journey Worth Taking

Elise Johns

Every prospective student has a vision for what they want out of their college experience. I knew I wanted…

Meet Elise Johns
Tommy Manning
Curiosity and Conservation

Tommy Manning

“My whole life I've been into environmentalism and sustainability,” says Tommy Manning ’26. Although…

Meet Tommy Manning