Button Menu

Our Community Stories

  • About
  • Our Community Stories
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
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
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
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
Mahmoud Abouelkheir
Embracing Community

Mahmoud Abouelkheir

I felt hesitant about coming to DePauw because of its location in a rural part of Indiana. Growing up…

Meet Mahmoud Abouelkheir
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
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
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
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
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
Sheraya Smith
An Appetite for Adventure

Sheraya Smith

Growing up near Crawfordsville, Ind., Sheraya Smith ’20 had always been familiar with DePauw University…

Meet Sheraya Smith
Tom Kominsky
Set Up For Success

Tom Kominsky

Tom Kominsky recalls the broad outlines of how he first became interested in DePauw. He says, “I saw…

Meet Tom Kominsky
John Marshall
In the Swim of Things

John Marshall

When I started my college search, I wasn’t 100 percent settled on a path. I had enjoyed economics in…

Meet John Marshall
Miguel Angel Navarro Jr.
Embracing Different Perspectives

Miguel Angel Navarro Jr.

I chose DePauw because I wanted to be somewhere where I felt at home. As a student, I was exposed to…

Meet Miguel Angel Navarro Jr.
Jason Soto-Vega
Deep Roots

Jason Soto-Vega

Originally from Costa Rica, Jason Soto-Vega ’25 grew up being taught the importance of community, hard…

Meet Jason Soto-Vega
Sahit Liyanage
Everything is possible

Sahit Liyanage

What is the value of undergraduate research? One is the experience itself: the chance to learn and engage…

Meet Sahit Liyanage
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
 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
 Raechel Meyers
Pleasant Surprises

Raechel Meyers

DePauw was the last school Raechel Meyers ’28 applied to. Even after she had been accepted and offered…

Meet Raechel Meyers
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
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
Peyton Rohr
A coast-to-coast college adventure

Peyton Rohr

West Coast: The First Visit from Sunny California  Peyton Rohr ’27, a student-athlete and media fellow…

Meet Peyton Rohr
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
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
Amy Weisenbach
Curiosity and Wonder

Amy Weisenbach

“I’m in a role today I never would have imagined when I graduated from DePauw,” says Amy Weisenbach …

Meet Amy Weisenbach
Paikea Early-Aden
Reaching Through the Past

Paikea Early-Aden

“This dig has been on my radar since the first day I visited DePauw,” says Pai Early-Aden ’29. “It was…

Meet Paikea Early-Aden
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
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
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
Amelia McLaren
At Home in the Lab

Amelia McLaren

As a biochemistry major with plans to pursue her M.D. and one day work in a teaching hospital, Amelia…

Meet Amelia McLaren