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PUENTE PROJECT HELPS LATINOS GET FROM
HIGH SCHOOL TO A COLLEGE
Spanish-speaking students can get help navigating the college enrollment and transfer process, get ongoing counseling and mentoring and even improve their writing skills through a program at two colleges in the Coast Community College
District.
Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa and Golden West College in Huntington Beach offer the program, designed to help students get the skills they need to pursue their goals and earn a college degree. For the past eighteen years, students participating in the Puente Project have taken leadership roles in their communities, earned their degrees, begun their careers and returned as mentors for new Puente
students.
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CONTACT:
Erin Cohn
Public Affairs Director
(714) 438-4605
August 22, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Copy by Julia Driscoll
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The Puente Project is composed of three components - writing, counseling and mentoring. The writing component includes a developmental writing course, followed by a college transfer-level composition course. Through the exploration of Mexican/American/Latino literature, these classes provide a supportive and stimulating environment for the student to build confidence in their writing skills. Puente students work closely with a Spanish-speaking counselor to identify their career goals, clarify values and develop educational plans. Students are matched with a mentor from the business community or from their campus, many of whom have gone through the program themselves. Mentors share their personal and professional experiences and provide support, encouragement, and motivation as students explore and define their career goals.
The Puente Project's mission is to increase students' self-confidence in writing skills, help students transfer to colleges and universities, and enlist Puente graduates as leaders and mentors to future generations.
Mentor Bob Cardoza, president of Nuvis Landscape Architects, has been a part of the Puente Project for over eight years. "Mentoring is good for anyone looking ahead. Mentors provide support, opportunity and a broadened awareness to their mentees," he said. Cardoza knows the importance of positive role models. "Students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds have little opportunity to experience the world - mentors have a broadened awareness and can pass that on."
Puente students are exposed to many Hispanic/Latino cultural experiences. Students attend plays, visit museums and attend poetry readings. In addition to helping students become more culturally aware, the students attend campus, county and statewide leadership conferences. The Puente Project truly is making a significant difference in the lives of its students. To find out more about the Puente Project, call Ben Figueroa at Orange Coast College at (714) 432-5860 or Sylvia Sanchez at Golden West College at (714) 895-8148.
The Coast Community College District is the seventh largest community college district in the nation in credit enrollment, serving 55,000 students each semester. The
District is comprised of Coastline Community College headquartered in Fountain Valley, Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, and KOCE-TV, the
District's public broadcasting station.
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