NCC’s First Chief Diversity Officer | Local Couple in National Contest | Neighborhood Parades

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North Central’s First Chief Diversity Officer

North Central College has created a new staff position. Rebecca Gordon is the college’s first chief diversity officer. Gordon is a member of the Latine and LGBTQIA+ communities. Gordon was previously North Central’s assistant vice president for equity, diversity, and inclusion since 2019. 

Academy of the Arts

A new arts-focused school and center for the community will be coming to Naperville in 2025. Non-profit Academy of the Arts will be providing traditional and arts education to students in sixth through twelfth grade. A community center that will bring professional artists and groups is also in the plans. A specific site has not been chosen yet.

Naperville Couple in National Hot Dog Eating Contest

Naperville couple Sarah and Juan Rodriguez took the stage at the national Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest this past weekend. Sarah made it to second place for eating 24 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, while Juan hit 30 and took ninth place. The competition at Coney Island in New York is where the couple first met four years ago. This year they competed as a married couple for the first time.

Neighborhood Fourth of July Parades

Local neighborhoods celebrated the Fourth of July with their annual parades. Brookdale’s 44th annual parade featured the Naperville police and fire departments and local elected officials. The Knoch Knolls community walked their parade, and ended at Knoch Knolls Commons for a reception with bouncy houses and ice cream. Wil-O-Way’s bike parade was back after being canceled last year due to the pandemic. Families decorated their bikes before pedaling off.

StoryPoint Naperville Tea Party

StoryPoint Naperville residents had a storybook-themed lesson about etiquette at a proper tea party. Staff at the senior living facility dressed up as characters from Alice in Wonderland for the event. There were also Alice in Wonderland-themed activities like “paint the roses red.”