On October 30, 2019, in collaboration with the Puente Learning Community, the Outreach office hosted 70 students from South San Francisco (SSFHS) and Capuchino High School for Discover Puente. The students in attendance are in the Hermanos y Hermanas Program at both schools and included a group from the English Learning department at SSFHS.
Luis Escobar, Dean of Counseling, welcomed the group in the Multicultural Center followed by an icebreaker that incorporated the traditional Mexican game, La Lotería. Images of various objects were displayed around the room and participants were asked to stand next to one they most connected with that morning. A student from SSFHS expressed that he choose the image of a “ladder” because “being at Skyline College is the start of rising to success”.
Soon after the activity, participants sat in on classes that included:
- BUS 100: Introduction to Business
- BUS 162: Money Talks: Personal Finance
- SPAN 120: Advanced Elementary Spanish
- ART 430: Introduction to Digital Art
- ENGL 105: Composition with Support
- COUN 100: College Success
- SOCI 105: Contemporary Social Issues
Interactive hands-on workshops were also conducted by faculty in the Biotechnology and Fabrication Labs. Students were exposed to engineering simulations and built structures using fabricated materials. An informational workshop for undocumented students in the Dream Center and a campus tour were also part of the agenda.
Dr. Angelica Garcia, Vice President of Student Services, joined the group and participated in the debriefing of the overall students’ experience. Skyline College prizes were given out to those who shared their highlights from Discover Puente. Survey showed majority of the participants were 11th and 12th graders from SSFHS and Capuchino High School. Prior to the event, 76% said their knowledge about college was good, in comparison to 83% post event. 100% of the participants agreed that they planned on attending college after graduating from high school.
A thank you to everyone involved in the success of this event: Grace Beltran, Paul Bridenbaugh, Luciana Castro, Rika Fabian, Eric Imahara, Nick Kapp, Maryam Khan, Lucia Lachmayr, Soledad McCarthy, Pamela Ortiz Cerda, Alberto Santellan, Marisa Thigpen, Marco Wehrfritz. Hermanos y Hermanas instructors, Dino Garcia (Capuchino), Charlie Morales (SSFHS), and Alejandra Tovar (SSFHS). Outreach ambassadors: Angelica Alvarez, Mark Estrada, Elijah Hernandez, Athena Mendoza, Tom Tran, and EJ Unisa. Event and Facilities team and Media Services (Roger Marcelo).
Discover Puente provided students with an opportunity to engage culturally with faculty, staff, and current Puente students to create a safe space to learn and ask questions about college.
Discover Puente is a part of the Discover Days initiative. The purpose of Discover Days is to host shadow days for underserved high school students to help them better connect to Skyline College and develop a level of comfort with higher education. Discover Days is graciously funded by the President’s Innovation Fund and supported by the President’s Council. For more information about Discover Days, contact Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos at evangelistaj@smccd.edu.
Article by Jeremy Evangelista-Ramos | Photo by Charlie Morales
