Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
Leslie James
Empowering Students

Leslie James

Since I recognize that each student brings a unique dimension to the collective, it is problematic to…

Meet Leslie James
Erik Wielenberg
Freedom to Explore

Erik Wielenberg

Since 1999, Erik Wielenberg has been a fixture of the philosophy department at DePauw University. Not…

Meet Erik Wielenberg
Marielle Gearding
Endless Curiosity

Marielle Gearding

Theatre. Neuroscience. Creative writing. True crime. Dance. Marielle Gearding ’27 has no shortage of…

Meet Marielle Gearding
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
Zach Taylor
Learning how to cut the fat

Zach Taylor

Zach Taylor graduated as a poetry and studio art double-major. Initially he was on an English literature…

Meet Zach Taylor
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
Nicole Lorch
Adaptable and Inspired

Nicole Lorch

Nicole Lorch grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana. As a teenager, she found herself a few hours south in Greencastle…

Meet Nicole Lorch
 Elisa Villanueva Beard
Business Executive

Elisa Villanueva Beard

Elisa has been an integral part of Teach for America for 25 years. It all started in 1998 as a TFA Phoenix…

Meet Elisa Villanueva Beard
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
Bella Zollner
Hope Is the Solution

Bella Zollner

Bella Zollner ’27 isn’t the type to sit on the sidelines. She prefers to be in the heart of the action…

Meet Bella Zollner
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
Tyson & Kady Becker
Still Learning

Tyson & Kady Becker

When an opportunity arose to advance in his career within General Motors, Tyson Becker ’04 knew it was…

Meet Tyson & Kady Becker
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Sydney Schloemer
Making Connections

Sydney Schloemer

No matter what activity Sydney Schloemer ’26 has found herself doing at DePauw, her ultimate goal has…

Meet Sydney Schloemer
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
Bree Mahoney-Sutherland
An Affinity for Black and Gold

Bree Mahoney-Sutherland

I come from a long line of black and gold. With our lineage coming directly from an original board of…

Meet Bree Mahoney-Sutherland
Brandon Collins
Forming a Path in Public Health

Brandon Collins

Brandon Collins '23, a neuroscience and global health double major, chose DePauw because of the small…

Meet Brandon Collins
Tanaa Jones
Formed by Faith

Tanaa Jones

Growing up in Nashville, Tenn., Tanaa Jones ’26 was taught from an early age how to see the world through…

Meet Tanaa Jones
Danielle Sommerman
Discovering Connections

Danielle Sommerman

I chose DePauw because I wanted a school with a small student body where I could make personal connections…

Meet Danielle Sommerman
Chi Nguyen
Healing through Art

Chi Nguyen

When Chi Nguyen ’25 found out that she had won first place and the Museum Purchase Prize at the Putnam…

Meet Chi Nguyen
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
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
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
 Troy Tien Nguyen
Giving Back

Troy Tien Nguyen

For domestic students, going to college is a new and exciting thing. But for international students,…

Meet Troy Tien Nguyen