Puente was founded in 1981 by co-directors Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath, at Chabot College in Hayward. The project's mission was to increase the number of Mexican American/Latino students transferring to four-year colleges and universities. Since then, Puente has expanded to 59 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 35 high schools 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 professional
Outstanding Results
- Puente serves more than 7,000 students per year.
- More than 2,500 professionals donate more than 18,000 hours annually to Puente students.
- An estimated 200,000 non-Puente students have benefited from Puente's staff developmental programs.
- Community colleges with Puente projects transfer 44 percent more Latino students to the University of California than colleges without Puente.
For more information on these services and programs contact:
Magdalena Zepeda
she/her/hers
Marisela Sanchez Garzon
she/her/hers
Puente Project Counselors/Coordinators
Oceanside Campus
mccpuente@miracosta.edu
The Puente Project is a service of the Department of Student Equity. For general inquiries about all Student Equity programs and services, please contact us at studentequity@miracosta.edu or call our main office at 760.757.2121 x6900.
