Puente Project

Program history

Puente was founded in 1981 by Felix Galaviz, Patricia McGrath, at Chabot College in Hayward. The program mission was to increase the number of Mexican American/Latino students transferring to four-year colleges and universities. Since then, Puente has expanded to 38 community colleges throughout the state. As an outgrowth of its success as a community college program, Puente piloted a high school version of its program in 1993 that is now operational in 18 high school throughout the state. Puente is open to all students.

Puente students

  • Succeed academically
  • Are recognized as leaders and scholars
  • Graduate from four-year colleges and universities
  • Belong to a statewide network of leaders and professionals

Read more stories about the Puente Learning Community

DVC Puente: The Student Experience

The Puente program

Many components work together to prepare Puente students to transfer to colleges and universities...

English instruction

Puente students take two consecutive writing classes, English 122 and English 123. These classes provide a supportive and stimulating environment for Puente students to build confidence in their writing skills through an exploration of the Mexican American/Latino experience.

Counseling

Puente students work closely with their Puente counselor , exploring career options, developing an academic educational plan and identifying lifetime goal. Students visit University of California and California State University campuses and attend an annual Puente student transfer conference.

Mentors

Each Puente student is matched with a mentor from the business or professional community. Mentors share with students their personal, academic and career experiences, and provide a window into "real-life" work environments. The network of trained Puente mentors provides many resources for the Puente students, their families, their colleges and the community.

Outstanding results

  • The Puente Project has won a national $100,000 Innovations in American Government award.
  • More than 5,500 students have enrolled in the Puente community college program.
  • An estimated 200,000 non-Puente students have benefited from Puente's staff development programs.
  • Community colleges with Puente programs transfer 44 percent more Latino students to the University of California than colleges without Puente.

For more information contact:

Brenda Gonzalez
Puente Counselor/Instructor, Co-Coordinator
bgonzalez@dvc.edu

Maria Dorado
Puente Counselor/Instructor, Co-Coordinator
mdorado@dvc.edu

Anthony Gonzales
Professor of English, Puente Co-Coordinator
agonzales@dvc.edu

Monica Olmedo
Professor of English, Puente Co-Coordinator
molmedo@dvc.edu

If you are interested in applying to the DVC Puente Project for Fall 2024 - Spring 2025, please fill out the interest form below.

Puente Interest Form 2024-25

Office Hours

  Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
8/5 - 8/15/24  10:00 am -1:00 pm 10:00 am -1:00 pm 10:00 am -1:00 pm 10:00 am -1:00 pm       CLOSED
Fall 2024
08/26 - 12/15/24		   9:00 am - 5:00 pm   9:00 am - 5:00 pm   9:00 am - 5:00 pm  9:00 am - 5:00 pm  9:00 am - 1:00 pm