The annual Puente End of Year Celebration was hosted on Friday, May 9, 2025, welcomed over 100 guests including students, their families and campus community members, to celebrate the accomplishments of Puente graduates and the 24-25 cohort completing their first year at Skyline College as part of the Puente Learning Community.
It wouldn’t be a Puente celebration without delicious food, buenas vibras (good vibes), and a room full of cariño (love/care). The event was MC’d in English and Spanish by first-year Puentista, Randy Garcia, and second-year Puentista and Learning Communities Student Assistant Miriam Gil-Alvarez who created a welcoming and inviting atmosphere. First-year Puentistas Brittney Lopez, Randy Garcia, Dante Rueda, and Miguel Hernandez Dueñas shared their testimonios (testimonials) about their experience in Puente, the support they received, and highlights from the year. It takes courage to be vulnerable in front of a crowd and it was a beautiful reminder of the power of Puente and the community that is fostered. For entertainment, and to honor the beautiful Mexican culture, Grupo Viva made a special appearance and danced Mexican Ballet Folklorico for our guests. To end the night on a sweet note, desserts by Guerritas Treats and Alexa Arambula were shared.
For 2024-2025, Puente is honored to celebrate 22 total graduates receiving a degree/certificate and/or transferring, 28 students completing their year in Puente with plans to continue at Skyline College to further their studies, and 12 scholarship recipients.
The Puente experience is further supported thanks to the dedication and commitment provided by the mentors. During the Fall 2024 semester, the new Puente cohort students were paired up with a professional mentor for the academic year. We are thankful to have had 28 active mentors this past year: Chris Gibson, Kenny Gonzalez, Dionicio Garcia, Alberto Santellan, Saul Milan, Jose Milan, Sandra Mendez, Andrea Fuentes, Pablo Gonzalez, Tammy Calderon, Mandy Lucas, Steve Martinez, Elias Lopez, Chris Avalos, Virginia Rosales, Leo Rosales, Chris Wardell, Hilary Cruz Mejia, Alex Urbina, Nadia Bilglari, Maritza Lopez, Kalia Chavez, Rocio Aguilar-Pedroza, Whitney Liu, Pia Walawalker, Eurania Lopez, Andrea Sanchez-Lopez, and Iridian Martinez.
The Puente Learning Community is led, supported and taught by the dedicated Puente co-coordinators Lucia Lachmayr and Angela Serrano. They worked hard all year to make sure that Puentistas were able to succeed and have a sense of community, especially those who are in their first year because we all know how hard starting a new journey can be.
Article by Miriam Gil-Alvarez; Angela Serrano
Photos by Lucia Lachmayr and Angela Serrano
