Puente is a program started at Chabot College in 1981 that aims to, as it says on their website, “increase the number of educationally underrepresented students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn college degrees and return to the community as mentors and leaders to future generations”. Although this program was started to help Hispanic/Latino students, it has now expanded to include every ethnicity. The Puente project focuses, especially on first-generation college students.
Almost every student in Puente is a first-generation college student. Students in this program referred to as “Puentistas”, usually come from an immigrant background. For many of these students, getting a college degree has been a lifelong dream and the Puente teachers and counselors are there to help them achieve it.
On Wednesday, May 14th, the Puente banquet was held for the class of 2021. As I looked around at the last time I will be seeing my fellow Puentistas before graduation, I saw a mix of excitement and nervousness on their faces. We all arrived at the banquet excited for our time to graduate from the program and go on to college. This was it. After we crossed the ceremonial bridge and got our diplomas and Puente stole, we all stayed to talk one last time. I took this time to ask my fellow Puentistas on how Puente has helped them on their road to college. Although most had similar answers such as “helping me with classes”, “tutoring” and “good teachers”, one stood out to me the most. It came from my friend, Brian Garcia. When Brian and I met, we were two nervous freshmen–now we are students finishing up high school.
When I asked Brian how the Puente Project helped him prepare for college, I was very surprised by the answer he gave me. When I asked him he said, “Honestly what helped me out most was not the classes or the staff. Don’t get me wrong, they’re very helpful, but the Puente experience that you get nowhere else is the field trips, and that is what helped me out the most.” At first, I admit I questioned his answer, but then I realized that he was right. Part of the Puente Project is taking two college field trips per year, Puente is the only program that we have at James Logan High school that allows students to have a chance to see college life. And the field trips that we take are not just regular college tours. We get to eat in the cafeterias with the college students, observe classes, and take a look at the courses and sports offered there. However, the most interesting and informative aspect is that we get a guided tour by James Logan Alumni who are enrolled in that school. “These college field trips are what helped me decide between multiple UC’s and State universities that I have been accepted into. With the help of the Puente staff, I was able to apply and be accepted–but with the help of our field trips, I was able to make my final decision on where to go this fall.”
This program should be expanded across the country; there are many students who want to succeed, but they do not have the resources to do so. The Puente project has helped thousands of disadvantaged students in succeeding in high school and get a college degree.
