Diego Mateo came to North Central College hoping to serve students in communities needing support for their schools. He majored in music education and found support through the challenges he faced as a first-generation, Latinx student. His rich, varied academic experience culminated with winning a national championship in forensics and serving as the student speaker at Commencement in 2023.

North Central College forensics, which has had a program on campus since the College opened in 1861, was able to compete virtually and find huge success at four different national competitions at the conclusion of the 2020-2021 season.

North Central College students have excelled beyond their coursework and shown themselves to be among the best in the country on a number of levels in 2019.