Faces of DePauw

Serving with Purpose

For Maria Barrios ’27, the journey to DePauw has been anything but conventional. Yet despite the difficulty along the way, the destination has been worth it. “I would do it again just to get where I am now,” she says.

As a teenager, Barrios was forced to flee her home in Venezuela to escape imminent threats against her and her family. She spent the next six months hiding with relatives in Chile, fearing for her own safety and wondering whether or not her parents were still alive. When she was finally able to reunite with them in the United States, she suddenly found herself facing an entirely new type of challenge: attending an American high school with no knowledge of English.

“That experience was tough,” she recalls. “Thankfully I got through it. I focused so hard on succeeding academically that eventually I got to a point where I no longer saw the insecure little girl inside.”

That academic success allowed Barrios to continue her education, but being far away from her family at a university in North Carolina proved difficult. “I didn’t find my path there,” she explains. “It was the lowest point of my life. It felt like I was locked up all over again.”

That low point ultimately led Barrios to DePauw, where she quickly discovered an entirely different college experience. “This is what I imagined college was going to be,” she says, adding that it’s given her a new perspective on everything she’s been through. “If I didn’t have those experiences, I wouldn’t appreciate what I have here.”

When Barrios talks about her journey to DePauw, the smile on her face says it all. “What I love the most about this community is that you can become so immersed in any part of it and learn from friends in all different areas. We’re so lucky to have amazing people. Everyone is so interconnected that the people you meet feel like family. Everyone fights for your best interest.”

As a Bonner scholar, Barrios is passionate about extending her reach beyond campus to serve the Greencastle community, as well. She volunteers regularly at the county courthouse, translating legal documents for individuals who do not speak English fluently. “That work makes me feel like I’m doing something with everything I had to go through. It isn’t just damage. It’s an experience that I can use to better someone else’s life.”

Barrios is just getting started. As she pursues a future at the intersection of law, ethics and nonprofit work, she knows DePauw is giving her a strong foundation of empowerment and self-discovery. “You can be anything. That’s what a liberal arts school like this teaches you. You don’t have to fit into one type of box.”