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Puente Students

Many Puente students have earned honors, and we celebrate and congratulate them all. Unfortunately, we can acknowledge here only the ones we've been told about, though we are well aware that many other students have excelled in many ways. To them, too, we send our praises.

High School

Lourdes Lopez, a 2007 graduate of California High School in Whittier Unified School District and now a student at the University of California San Diego, was awarded a prestigious Gates Foundation Scholarship. Of approximately 11,000 applicants, only 1000 are selected for this honor. The scholarship is annually renewable, with the amount determined each year after review of the student's financial aid package. The GFS also funds graduate education in a limited number of fields, and Lourdes's goal of becoming a math teacher qualifies, which will enable her to support master's and doctorate studies with the scholarship. Further, the GFS will provide Lourdes with mentoring services, an online resource center that gives access to internships, fellowships, and other scholarships, and the opportunity to attend leadership conferences.

Mt. Eden High School student Yajaira Morales has been awarded a full scholarship to Santa Clara University for four years. The scholarship will cover full tuition, room and board, books, and lab fees for each year. Yajaira will enroll in a double major there.

Sharing full scholarship honors for four years to attend Santa Clara University is Pittsburg High senior Saul Hernandez. Saul came to the United States at age 10, knowing no English, but was determined to benefit from every educational resource he could. He took many AP courses at Pittsburg High, was the first Pittsburg High School student to enroll in the Introduction to Engineering course, which he completed with an A, at Los Medanos College, and won a scholarship to the Asian American Journalists convention in NYC, where he met local newswoman Wendy Tokuda. Saul was active in Latino clubs at school and has lettered in cross country. Add to that an A+ in robotics technology.

Pittsburg High sent news of another scholarship student, Bibiana Arriola, who will attend UC Berkeley. The East Bay Leadership Foundation (EBLF) will award Bibiana a $7,000 scholarship for each of the four years she is at Cal. About her background and interest in education, Bibiana wrote:

Jessica Carrillo, who graduated from Whittier High School in June '06 with a 4.07 grade point average, is now enrolled at UCLA. One of her teachers said, "Jessica is the type of student that all teachers want to teach. She loves to learn and is excited by education and the prospect of her own personal development. Students such as Jessica make the teaching profession priceless." Jessica hopes to become a teacher herself, so will be following the Puente mission of returning to the community as a leader and mentor to future generations.

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Community College

Counselor Teresa Guadiana, Instructor David Hurst, and the Puente Club at College of the Sequoias held their seventh annual Winter Coat Drive in November 2007. Each year the Puente Club picks a different school, gets sizes for the students in need of outer wear, and raises money through donations and selling tamales and baked goods. This year they were able to provide almost 100 coats for K-5 children! On the cold December day the Puentistas delivered the coats, they were keenly aware of the help they were giving their community when they saw that many of the students had come to school with no outer wear.

The Concord Transcript ran a story about Go Get It!, a free tutoring and career exploration program that helps local low-income students who want to go to college fulfill their dream. Go Get It! was co-founded by Maria Reyes, a former Diablo Valley College Puente student, who graduated from UC Davis in 2005. "The goal of Go Get It!, which is funded by the San Francisco Foundation, is to increase graduation rates. . .and increase the number of minority students who enroll in vocation and post-secondary education," said Maria. Students attend tutoring sessions and receive help with homework in all subjects; they and their families also attend monthly workshops on college preparation topics. "I was a first-generation college student myself. Sometimes, you have the motivation to go to college, but you don't have people who can tell you about the financial resources or how to apply for a scholarship. We wanted to find those resources and bring (them) to the students."

Edward "Barry" Gropp, a student in Barbara Jaffe's first Puente class at El Camino College in 1993, has come full circle in fulfilling Puente's mission of returning to the community as a mentor and leader to future generations. He currently coordinates high school outreach programs and conducts orientations for prospective students. With his further goal of helping to make institutional change for educationally disadvantaged students in their quest for higher education, Barry will begin a doctoral program in educational leadership at UCLA in the fall.

In the spirit of Sí Se Puede, Long Beach City College Puente celebrated Claudia Banegas, who was awarded the highly prestigious University of California, Berkeley, Millers Research Scholarship. Claudia was a fall 2006 transfer student to the Department of Political Science. With this scholarship, Claudia works under the guidance of a professor on an independent project of her choice. Claudia's career plans include a career in International Relations and Law. Claudia is the proud parent of two children and states "that with hard work anything is possible".

Another Long Beach City College Puente student, Freddy Castillo, a fall 2006 transfer student to University of California, Los Angeles, was granted the UCLA Golden Bear $10,000.00 Scholarship. Freddy was active in the honors and student government programs at LBCC.

Current LBCC Puente Student Philip Diaz was honored by the Statewide EOPS program with an Outstanding Student Award, and LBCC alum Carlos Gutierrez, UC Berkeley 2006 English major graduate, was hired by LBCC to work with the Title 5 Grant as a Supplemental Instructor for English and Writing. Way to Go Puentistas!

Napa Valley College is completing its third year with Puente. Hats off to its first graduating\transferring class of 18 Puente students. Puentista Monica Hurtado was the valedictorian at graduation.

Another Puentista at Napa Valley College, Rachel Salas, was recognized by the Chamber of Commerce as the Student of the Year for leadership in the community.

Finally, 23 Napa Valley College Puente students received scholarships in 2007. Congratulations students and team members:

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