DePauw Stories

For Derek ’95 and Amber Walker ’94 Empie, DePauw University is more than a name at the top of their diplomas. It’s the place their story begins.

It all started when Derek spotted “a beautiful blond girl walking across Bowman Park” just prior to his sophomore year. He was eager to find out more about her, and thanks to some strategic intel from his fraternity brothers – and the fortuitous discovery that they were both enrolled in the same mass communications class that semester – Derek and Amber soon made a connection. They’ve been together ever since.

Fast forward over three decades, and Derek and Amber’s story remains saturated in black and gold. Not only are they proud alumni who celebrate the education they received at DePauw, but they’re also proud parents of three current Tigers – Carson ’26, Adisyn ’27 and Aubree ’27 – all of whom are leaving their own imprint on the university where Derek and Amber first met.

It’s a story that wouldn’t be possible without a busted knee and a last-minute change of plans.

Unexpected Beginnings

When Amber applied to DePauw, she hadn’t even seen the campus. Having grown up in Carmel, Ind., her intent at the time was to enroll at a state school, where she and her friend had arranged to be roommates. But after finding out that she had been accepted to DePauw, she scheduled a visit to Greencastle and quickly altered her plans. “As soon as I went, I said, ‘This is where I’m supposed to be,’” she recalls. “I don’t know what it was, but I just had a feeling. So I had to call my high school friend and tell her she didn’t have a roommate anymore.”

Meanwhile, Derek was a promising high school baseball player in Georgia with strong collegiate interest. But when he tore his meniscus before his senior year, a Division I coach informed him that no scholarship would be available due to the uncertainty of the recovery. “That made me reevaluate what I was looking for in a school,” says Derek. “That summer, my dad and I drove up through the Midwest and the East Coast and looked at about a dozen schools. DePauw for some reason just stuck out. I applied for early admission, got in, and that was it.”

Despite the indirect paths that brought them here, both Amber and Derek jumped right in, taking on active roles in the community. Derek was a starting pitcher for the baseball team, a student assistant with Bill Wagner in the Sports Information Office, a feature writer for The DePauw newspaper, an English writing major, a participant in the New York Arts Program and a member of Sigma Chi. Meanwhile, Amber studied communication and French, played tennis her freshman year, participated in the Collegians choir ensemble, volunteered in the Putnam County community, was a reporter for DePauw TV, had multiple leadership roles in Alpha Phi and was the 1993 DePauw Old Gold queen. For both of them, their campus involvement proved to be valuable preparation for the work they have gone on to do since – Derek in both sports media and law and Amber in corporate communications and volunteer service.

“The leadership positions in my sorority combined with my communication major helped me not only in my job, but also in the leadership and volunteer roles I had later in life,” says Amber. “Organization, communication, coordination, respecting other people's viewpoints, taking everything into account when you're making your decision – it was truly the broad range of experiences that made DePauw special.”

The Next Generation

It’s fitting that, like his parents, Carson didn’t initially think he would attend DePauw. Growing up, he attended several Monon Bell family-friendly watch parties, and he had been to campus for an alumni baseball game with his dad and a 25th class reunion with his mom. Yet when it came to his own college journey, Carson envisioned a path that would take him in a different direction. “I knew my parents went to DePauw,” he said, “and at the time, that was kind of a turn-off for me. I was thinking I would go to a larger school instead.”

But Carson’s academic interests were inconveniently broad, and the more he explored his options, the more he realized DePauw was a good fit for what he wanted to do. “I knew I was interested in chemistry, but I was also interested in econ and business,” he explains. “Going to a larger school wouldn’t have allowed me to pursue both.”

Contrary to initial expectations, Carson settled on his parents’ alma mater, where he has found his niche as a member of the Management Fellows program, a peer mentor, a brother and leader within Sigma Chi and a biochemistry major with a minor in business administration. He’s thoroughly enjoyed the scope of study available to him. “I love the liberal arts and learning about different things,” he says. “Instead of focusing on one thing, I want to broaden my horizons. I really appreciate that about DePauw, and I feel like I've benefited from that model.”

At the same time Carson was making a final decision about where to attend college, his twin sisters – just 20 months behind him in age – were facing important decisions of their own.

Adisyn just so happened to be tagging along during Carson’s official visit to DePauw, and despite the gloomy weather that day in Greencastle, she was intrigued by what she saw. “I got the feeling that I could definitely see myself here,” she recalls. “I still kept my mind open to other colleges after that, but whenever I toured another campus, I always found myself comparing it to DePauw.”

The deciding factor for Adisyn was her acceptance into the Honor Scholar program, an environment that promised the academic challenge she was looking for. Now that she’s at DePauw, she’s working toward a physics major with plans to minor in French and English writing. Outside the classroom, Adisyn is the president of Alpha Phi, a member of the pre-law club, a local volunteer with Putnam County’s Counsel in the Court program, and she’s traveled both to Italy for archaeology and to Arizona for summer research. “I’ve been able to grow a lot as a person and as a student,” she says.

Her sister Aubree was less enthusiastic about following her family members to Greencastle. “I didn’t really want to go to DePauw,” she admits. “Both of my parents went there, my brother now was there, and my sister also had an interest at the time. It was going to be a whole family affair.” But as a standout goalkeeper whose talents were in demand from several high-level soccer programs, Aubree’s perspective changed once she met the team and got to watch a practice. “I realized this was a team I really wanted to play on. The girls were amazing. The coach was great. And the whole dynamic was something I wanted to experience for four years.”

Like her brother, Aubree is also part of the Management Fellows program, and she’s pursuing a major in biochemistry with a minor in business administration. But she broke from family tradition by joining Kappa Kappa Gamma, of which she is currently the vice president of membership. Although it elicits some good-natured banter with the two Alpha Phis around the dinner table, Aubree sees her sorority experience as a reflection of DePauw’s limitless possibilities. “The freedom to choose your own path is what draws me in.”

Carson, Adisyn and Aubree maintain a close bond both on and off campus – this past summer, for example, the three of them took a trip to Universal Studios together. Yet throughout their time as students, they’ve each found a way to make DePauw their own. “I do enjoy having my own space and my own people at DePauw,” says Carson. “But I know I always have my sisters. They have my back no matter what, and I have theirs”

The Past Meets the Future

For Derek and Amber, having all three of their children on the same college campus was never something they expected. But now that it’s a reality, they’re both relishing the experience.

“It’s kind of funny to hear them say that they didn’t originally want to go to this school because their parents went there,” laughs Amber. “Now we’ve come to this point where as a mom, I couldn’t envision it any differently. I’m just thrilled they are all there together. Certainly it makes it easy on Derek and me in terms of visiting, and it’s so fun for us to see how they’re making DePauw their school. There are little bits and pieces of our past there, but it’s their school now.”

That last point is a clear priority for Derek and Amber. As much as they value their own college experiences and the memories they made at DePauw, they know that their job now is to empower their kids to blaze their own trail. To their credit, each of them has.

“They have found their own identity at DePauw,” says Derek. “I really enjoy coming to campus for events and looking at it through their eyes.” Whether it’s a soccer game, a football tailgate or an event at one of their Greek houses, Derek and Amber are constantly reminded of the past that brought them together and encouraged by the future that awaits their children.

They’re also full of gratitude for the journey that brought them here.

“Had I not injured my knee in high school, I probably would not have gone to DePauw,” Derek says, recounting the unforeseen string of events that started this journey all those years ago. “All these things worked out to bring us together, and now we have these three wonderful kids who all found their path. DePauw has given us so much.”