Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
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
Jon Fortt
A Good Fit

Jon Fortt

It was the Media Fellows Program that drew me to DePauw.  I also wanted to experience an environment…

Meet Jon Fortt
Kyle Smitley
Social Change Agent

Kyle Smitley

Kyle Smitley launched an organic children’s clothing line at age 23, just a year out of DePauw. Inspired…

Meet Kyle Smitley
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Ben Schroeder
Getting Exposure

Ben Schroeder

Ben Schroeder came to DePauw on the recommendation of a family member who graduated in the 1980s. Having…

Meet Ben Schroeder
Azzaya Gansukh
Light up the City

Azzaya Gansukh

The liberal arts proved to be the right fit for Azzaya Gansukh. The computer science and communication…

Meet Azzaya Gansukh
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
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
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
Jacob Zerull
A Full Plate

Jacob Zerull

When Jacob Zerull ’29 arrived at DePauw from his hometown of Lake Forest Ill., he wasted no time making…

Meet Jacob Zerull
Nate Nichols
Living Weirdly

Nate Nichols

Nate Nichols ’05 has no interest in conformity. On the surface, his life contains all the hallmarks…

Meet Nate Nichols
Byron Mason
Get weird, make mistakes

Byron Mason

I came to DePauw knowing I wanted to write, but there were a lot of different avenues that I could take…

Meet Byron Mason
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Priscilla Smith
The Freedom of Learning

Priscilla Smith

Since she was four years old, Priscilla Smith ’29 has spent much of her time in the pool. Like any athlete…

Meet Priscilla Smith
Cooper Macy
Almost a Local

Cooper Macy

When Cooper Macy ’25 arrived in Italy for an accelerated language program the summer before his sophomore…

Meet Cooper Macy
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
Kendall Mann
Orr Fellow

Kendall Mann

“I was unsure what my early career would entail, but I knew I wanted to give back and support Indiana…

Meet Kendall Mann