Each of our Puente Mentors are incredibly vital to the success of our mission. Because of this, we highly value our Mentor's role! By actively interacting with Puente students, Mentors demonstrate and share first-hand how they tackled the tough, real-life obstacles that so often impede Latino success. Simply put, our Puente students learn from the real pros--the real-life heroes of our community!
The Process
Online Puente Mentor applications are accepted all year round. Recruitment occurs on an ongoing basis.
INSTRUCTIONS: Type your answers directly onto our online application from any computer. You can then electronically submit your application with just one click of a button. Remember to fill out the form entirely (including the short informal essay). Once you've finished, press 'submit by email' and that's it! You're done! We'll send an email confirmation indicating your online application was received
IMPORTANT! You MUST have Acrobat Reader version 7.0 installed on your computer to electronically file your application with us. Don't worry, it's free and quick! Just take a few moments and download Acrobat Reader version 7.0 using the link below.
Acrobat Reader Version 6.0 Users: Those using Acrobat Reader version 6.0 will NOT be able to electronically file their application with us online! HOWEVER, you'll still be able to open the online application, fill it out, and print a hard copy. Bring your application to either the Puente English Office, Room 284 or the English Department Front Desk. You can also mail your application to the address below.
ATTN: Puente Project
Los Medanos College
2700 East Leland Road
Pittsburg, CA 94565-5197
What We're All About!
What Can We Do About It?
How Does the Puente Student Fit Into the Solution?
How Does Puente Prepare Future Leaders?
How Exactly Does The Puente Project Operate?
Which Classes Will I Be Required To Take?
The Bottom Line
Many students over the years have continually asked us: just what is the Puente Project all about?
The Crisis Defined
The Puente Project is really about training and equipping the future Latino leaders of California. Think about it. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that California Latino students today are academically falling further and further behind. Study after study continue to show that Latinos perform far below their White, Asian and African-American counterparts. In fact, it's an outright crisis of unprecedented proportions. And as much as I hate to put the situation this bluntly, it sadly is the truth. And we all have to face up to it--now!
The Situation in Plain Numbers
Almost 50% of all California public school children today are Latino.
Yet, if we add up all 50 states nationwide,
we find that nearly 50% of all Latinos drop out of school--the highest of any racial category.
Now, of those Latino students in California that actually remain in school and graduate,
only 23.8% are eligible to go on to college--the lowest of any racial category.
It is no wonder that only a small number of degrees nationwide are
awarded to Latinos; less than half a percent (.04) earn PhD's in all fields combined!
In spite of these dismal statistics, the California Latino population
is projected to grow enormously in the coming years.
Action is Needed NOW!
The Latino community in the future will be BOTH the largest and
most uneducated population in California--indeed, the Southwest: a virtual permanent working-class!
What Can We Do About It ?
We can do one of two things:
- We can sit around and hope things gets better.
- Or we can be proactive and mobilize and train our youth NOW to intelligently, creatively and boldly deal with the issues they face.
It's not all hopeless, people. In fact, far from it!
How Exactly Does the Puente Project Operate?
Let's discuss the 'Nuts & Bolts' of Puente. Our program is structured on a 3-tier approach:
- English
- Counseling
- Mentoring
Let's take each category above one at a time:
English: Studies have proven that Latino students lag significantly behind their fellow counterparts in English. Arturo Núñez, our super-dedicated Puente English Instructor, will therefore concentrate heavily on building a strong and solid foundation in not only the appreciation of literature, but also in your ability to critically analyze a text and develop/write well-argued essays. Now, don't be afraid of all this. I'll take you through each phase step-by-step.
Counseling: Studies have similarly shown that although Latinos consistently indicate that they want college as part of their future, they rarely know how to prepare towards that end. This is where our Counseling component comes in. Every Puente student will be working with Marco Godinez, our super-dedicated Puente Counselor who'll show you exactly how to successfully prepare for and transfer onto the 4-year college of your choice. Marco will also address and help you work through any fears or nervousness you may have about college. In fact, both Marco and myself have been there ourselves, so we understand! Trust us on that one :)
Mentoring: In addition, each Puente student is paired up one-on-one with an amazing Mentor, each of whom have incredible success stories of their own. Through this collaboration, Puente students learn first-hand how to negotiate and overcome the more common real-life obstacles that so often impede Latino success. In other words, you'll be learning from the real pros--the real-life heroes of our community!
Which Classes Will I Be Required To Take?
First and foremost, realize that the Puente Project is a solid one-year commitment. If you can give us just one year, we'll change your life forever. My personal guarantee to you is that this year will be packed with more interesting classes, more thought-provoking ideas, more amazing class speakers and more culturally spectacular field trips than you ever dreamed possible! Not a bad way to spend 365 days, eh?
Puente students are enrolled together as a class in the following courses during their Fall Semester:
Puente students continue on as a class in the following courses during their Spring Semester:
- English 100
- Counseling 33
The Bottom Line
Puente continues to produce amazing miracles, year after year, because we're in the business of transforming dreams into reality. But you've got to want to make it happen. We don't take sleepwalkers in Puente, only visionaries who are dedicated to transforming their dreams into reality one step at a time. Ultimately, the Puente Project is what YOU bring to it.
