COA Puente Family Night
Puente Noche de Familia (Puente Family Night) is a special annual event that celebrates the families and friends of CoA’s Puente students. This year over 35 Puente students, friends, and family members celebrated together virtually on Zoom. The evening offered participants a variety of engaging activities, including important transfer information and special appreciation for those important individuals who help our Puente students stay focused on their education and achieve their goals.
October was a busy month for CoA Puente students who also attended a special one-day Transfer Motivational Conference hosted by the University of California, Berkeley, where they learned more about University of California campuses, and virtually met leaders in various fields, who focused on relevant topics and transfer. Puente students learned how to navigate the university admissions process and were inspired by motivational speakers, including keynote speaker and Author Gabby Rivera who wrote Juliet Takes a Breath, and is the first Latinx writer for the Marvel Comics America series, which features the first queer Latinx teen-girl superhero in the history of comics.
Puente's foundational belief is that any student, regardless of past performance, has the potential to succeed academically if provided with the right tools and learning environment. Therefore, Puente serves students from the full range of demonstrated ability levels. Puente’s model combines an academically challenging curriculum with a cross-functional support network of specially trained teachers, counselors, parents, families, and members of the local community. This innovative program is co-sponsored by the University of California and the California Community Colleges, with additional funding provided by the College. CoA’s Puente Program operates under the auspices of the Hispanic Serving Institution Grant, ACCESO, and Puente Program Director Horacio Corona Lira.
What our Puente students are saying: “I am a first-time student in my 40s. when I first started College of Alameda, I did not have a clue what I was doing. If it wasn’t for the Puente program, I believe I would have fallen behind. Puente is always there to help in any way. They have great administration, counselors, classes, and lots more. I am so thankful for have Puente be a part of my college journey.” - COA Puente student Michele Almodobar
CoA Academic Senate Supports the Library Reserve Textbook Fund
On October 21, 2021, the College of Alameda Academic Senate voted to donate $1,000 to the library reserve textbook fund. Established in Spring 2020, in honor of former Automotive Technology Instructor and past Academic Senate President Ed Jaramillo because of his steadfast support of College of Alameda. The donation honors Ed's memory while also helping students cope with the ever-increasing price of textbooks. Textbooks placed on reserve are made available to students on a short-term check-out basis, so that they may complete the necessary coursework without incurring the costs of course textbooks.
College of Alameda Kudos
CoA's Dean of Career and Workforce Education, Customized Training, and Community Education Eva Denise Jennings has been appointed to the City of Alameda Mayor’s Economic Development Advisory Panel (EDAP). The purpose of EDAP is to advise the Mayor, City Council members, and staff on key economic development issues and initiatives. The swearing-in ceremony was held on October 19, 2021. Dean Jennings has been with the College since 2016 and is also the President Elect for the California Community College Association for Occupational Education.
English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Professor Dr. Didem Ekici co-authored a chapter of a new book titled Discourse and Conflict: Analysing Text and Talk of Conflict, Hate and Peace- building, recently published by Palgrave Macmillan (2021). The chapter, “Person to Person Peacebuilding through Intercultural Communication: Discourse Analysis of an Online Intercultural Service-Learning Project with Afghanistan,” highlights person-to- person peacebuilding through intercultural communication. You can view the book that includes Dr. Ekici's chapter (Chapter 13) via Google Books
College of Alameda Welcomes New College Members
ACCESO Adjunct Counselor Claudia Ruelas comes to College of Alameda with nine years’ experience working in higher education. She was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and is proud of her first-generation heritage and being the first in her family to earn a college degree. Ruelas started her education at De Anza College and was part of the Puente program there. After completing her Associate of Art Degree in Liberal Studies, Claudia transferred to San Jose State University where she earned both her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Master’s Degree in Counseling. Claudia is passionate about working with students and is a huge believer in student equity. She looks forward to supporting ACCESO students.
Undocumented Student Success Coordinator Juan Lopez was born in Michoacán, México, and migrated to Hayward, California with their mother and nine months old sibling Through the optimism and resilience instilled in them by their mother, Juan flourished and was inspired to help others. Juan is a proud CoA alum who transferred to the University of California (UC), Berkeley and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. At UC Berkeley, Juan was an active member of Rising Immigrant Scholars through Education (R.I.S.E.). In this role as CoA’s Undocumented Student Success Coordinator, Juan will serve undocumented students and their families through mentorship, expansion of resources and services, and through promoting the growth and excellence of undocumented students at CoA and beyond. Juan previously worked as a Legal Assistant at Legal Services for Children (LSC), where Juan was an advocate for immigrant youth.
Cougars Men’s Basketball Team’s First Home Game Is November 13
For an up to date basketball schedule go to: http://www.alameda.peralta.edu/Athletics/mens-basketball
This article is taken from the President’s Report, written by Dr. Nathaniel Jones III, College of Alameda President, that was presented to the PCCD Board of Trustees during their regular meeting on Tuesday, November 9, 2021. Click here to view as a PDF