Kane County Reporter

Aurora residents can mark their calendars for 11 a.m. on Sept. 11, when Aurora University (AU) professor and active community advocate Eva Serrano will lead the downtown 2016 Fiestas Patrias Parade as grand marshal.

 

Serrano, an AU assistant professor of foreign languages who is actively involved in the Latino community and serves as a mentor for many Latino students, believes in the power of learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

 

"Dr. Serrano's efforts have not gone unnoticed," Melissa Garcia, an AU sophomore and a member of LASO.Fiesta Patrias 2016, said.  "There's a reason the students she mentors gravitate back to Aurora University. We are grateful."

 

A first-generation college student, Serrano earned five degrees, including two graduate degrees in education from Northern Illinois University and several fellowships. Having explored her cultural identity as the daughter of a Mexican mother and Puerto Rican father, she became a faculty adviser for Latino campus organizations, encouraging students’ passion for developing leadership skills to make a difference in their communities.

 

"Dr. Serrano is a builder of bridges within the greater Aurora community," AU Executive Vice President Ted Parge said. "Her leadership in the recruitment of Latino students to Aurora University, her expertise in the classroom as a professor and her personal leadership in development and implementation of effective retention initiatives for Latino students is second to none."

 

The parade will begin at the corner of River and Benton Streets, and is part of the weekend-long Fiestas Patrias Festival, open 3-9 p.m. Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday at RiverEdge Park, 360 N. Broadway.

 

Admission to the festival on Saturday is $5 from 3-6 p.m. and $10 from 6-9 p.m., with children under 12 free all day; on Sunday, all admission is free.