Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
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
Tina Irvine
Making Sense of the Past

Tina Irvine

“I’ve been obsessed with history since I was a kid,” says Tina Irvine ’09. “I love a good story, and…

Meet Tina Irvine
 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
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
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
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
Paige Burgess
Orchestrating Connection

Paige Burgess

As a music education major, Paige Burgess ’25 understands how a collection of otherwise dissimilar notes…

Meet Paige Burgess
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
Megan Casey Glover
Visionary Entrepreneur

Megan Casey Glover

“Early in my career, I worked for DePauw’s Annual Fund. My job was to travel the country to meet with…

Meet Megan Casey Glover
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
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
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
 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
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
Brace Mullett
Never Say No

Brace Mullett

Brace Mullett ’26 didn’t have a master plan to come to DePauw, double major in biochemistry and religious…

Meet Brace Mullett
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
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
Nushla Pradhan
Experiencing it All

Nushla Pradhan

I was interested in natural sciences and social sciences, and I wanted a good blend of different classes…

Meet Nushla Pradhan
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Quan Nguyen
Accepting Unanswered Questions

Quan Nguyen

Throughout my journey at DePauw, there are many questions that I ask myself every day. Despite many classroom…

Meet Quan Nguyen
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
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