Puente means bridge in Spanish. And for first time Latinx students it is a crucial path to help navigate the struggles  and intricacies of higher education.  For more than a decade La Puente project has been the deal maker that encourages first generation students to pursue a higher education and navigate their first year of college.

The Puente mission directly embodies what it means to have a support system, or backbone. Its mission is to increase the number of Mexican-American and Latinx students to transfer to four-year schools.

Michael Ortiz Garcia is a freshman at Cabrillo who was encouraged to apply to Puente  during his senior year at Soquel High School. Like many, Garcia was in the middle ground of choosing to “work his whole life” or attending college. He said he needed a backbone guide to this world of college. Garcia is looking forward to transferring with the guidance of his academic counselor, Michelle Mendoza, Puente’s primary counselor.

The Puente program has three components: counseling, English and mentorship—it’s a way to help first generation college students. These components allow students to stay on track with their academics to transfer while developing leadership skills through their one-on-one mentor program. These mentors are previous students with careers who are mentoring the next generation of Latinx leaders at Cabrillo.

The English component is directed by instructor Adela Najarro, who intertwines social justice themes within the English curriculum. By doing this, students are seeing their culture and issues represented in what they are reading. They are seeing this not only in what they are learning but by whom they are learning from. Garcia says that it’s cool because he is finally seeing brown educators throughout his academic journey.

Puente not only fosters representation but also a community or like Mendoza says, a “familia.” This idea of familia stems from creating a space for Puente students to feel that they have a home at Cabrillo.

It is overwhelming for a first generation college student to navigate the college culture which is why having a community is super crucial for Puente students, they say. About 95% of Puente students at Cabrillo are first-generation college students who are finding their voice to feel empowered at Puente.

“Of course, no denying it, Dr. Najarro ensures to us that there are a lot of resources.”

   All 27 Puente students are on this road of college together while celebrating who they are. More and more Puente students are becoming leaders. Garcia hopes to contribute back to the Puente project by paying forward in the future.

 The Puente project at Cabrillo is hoping to have a STEM (Science ,Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) model for first generation college students in the near future.