Puente Project aims to help students succeed

BUTTE VALLEY » Students looking for guidance before transferring to a four-year college need look no further than the Puente Project.

The Puente Project is a national award-winning program that helps thousands of educationally under-served students enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees and return to the community as leaders and mentors to future generations. The program was founded in 1981 and exists at other community colleges, but is

a brand-new program this semester at Butte College.

Students from low-income households, are the first in their families to attend college, who previously had challenges while enrolled in school or who had taken a break from college are the students that the project helps. Many of the students come from Latinx backgrounds, which is a nongender identifier for Hispanic students.

To meet the requirements to be in the program, students have to declare their intent to transfer to a four-year college or university. Two classes are taught at Butte College that help prepare the students for transfer, College Life and Success, which is a college success course taught by Butte College general counselor Julio Delgado, and English 2 and 11.

“It’s our first Puente cohort,” said Delgado. “We’re hoping that the community around the college will learn about the program and send students our way.”

A cohort is a group of students that take classes together.

“They form a bond while being part of the program,” Delgado said. “They are part of a family and support each other.”

Delgado says that students are recruited during spring semester and then take the courses in the fall.

According to the college website, The Puente Project combines accelerated instruction, intensive academic counseling and community leadership opportunities. It is a state-funded program that helps prepare students for college admission and success through its combination of accelerated instruction, academic counseling, and opportunities for community leadership. Puente is open to all students.

Interested students can email puente@butte.edu for more information.