Puente Scholars is a one-year cohort program designed to develop the necessary skills to transfer and succeed at a four-year university and beyond. At Rio Hondo College (RHC), the program is open to all interested students, independent of ethnic identity. Its mission is to increase the number of educationally underserved students who enroll in four-year colleges and universities, earn degrees, and return to the community as leaders and mentors.

Puente Scholar Cohort

Each year, the cohort typically consists of 28 first-year students who share one counseling class and two English classes over the course of two semesters. Puente Scholars also participate in group activities, workshops, and single-day and weekend field trips to universities, such as their October 2025 weekend trip to UC San Diego, San Diego State, and the University of San Diego. Other Puente Scholar perks include priority registration, assistance from a dedicated counselor, a connection with a community mentor, and opportunities for leadership and community service.

Angela Sotelo, Puente Scholars Counselor/Coordinator (and Rio Hondo Alumni), teaches the program’s Counseling 102, Introduction to the Transfer Process. Although most of the students are in their first year, the program is also available to seasoned RHC students.

“I have students who have been here for a while, but have never taken or passed their English 1000,” explained Sotelo. “If they haven’t taken the freshman composition and they want to join Puente, even though they’re returning students or continuing students, they could join.”

The Puente experience is not limited to the Puente Scholars program. Students can also be part of the Puente Club. The Puente Project is under the Counseling division at RHC and is co-sponsored by the University of California and the California Community College Chancellor’s Office.

Puente Project History

The Puente Project has been at RHC for 38 years. According to the Puente Project’s official website, it was founded in 1981 by Felix Galaviz and Patricia McGrath at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif. The project originated as a grassroots initiative designed to address the low academic achievement rates among Mexican American and Latino students. Galaviz and McGrath analyzed more than 2,000 student transcripts to understand the high dropout rate. They identified three key patterns among Latino students: students were avoiding academic counseling, students were not enrolling in college-level writing courses, and students were often the first in their families to attend college. The Puente Program was created to address these three areas.

Program Curriculum

At RHC, Puente Scholars take two consecutive writing classes with Professor Alonso Garcia. In the Fall, they take English C1000, College Composition and Research, and in the Spring, English C1001, Critical Thinking. In her Fall counseling class, students work with Sotelo to explore career options, develop an academic educational plan, and identify their goals. She said that they hold the Puente Scholars to a high standard.

“We want it to be rigorous because we want them to succeed,” said Sotelo. “So if they’re going to Berkeley, UCLA, or to other campuses, we don’t want it to be a surprise. We want them to be ready for that level of standards. In the Spring, our students are actually recommended to take honors classes.”

Sotelo mentioned that, with so much time spent together, the cohort often becomes a cohesive unit.

“We build a bond that’s very strong amongst our peers,” said first-year student Pablo Chamagua, who learned about RHC’s Puente Scholars program from Sotelo while he was completing his high school diploma at El Monte Rosemead Adult School. “The Puente Scholars group kind of becomes like a family.” At Sotelo’s urging to become involved at school, the social work major has become part of the Legacy program, serves as a senator in the RHC Associated Student Body, and works as a student worker in the counseling office.

Other students also credit Puente Scholars and Sotelo’s encouragement with having a transformative effect on their lives. Felix Acosta, a first-year welding technician student at RHC, returned to college after a 10-year break. He knew Sotelo from his Cal State Upward Bound program at Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles. He had been working as a delivery driver when Sotelo reached out to him.

“She kind of just gave me a burst of inspiration, you know, knowing that there’s a group of people that are willing to help each student out with their struggles, whatever it is that they’re going through in life,” said Acosta.

First-year RHC student Tegan Liranza, a ‘25 graduate of California High School in Whittier, said that she appreciates how the Puente Scholars program has broadened her horizons.

“It’s definitely shown me different colleges and ways to branch out,” said Liranza. And then with this counseling class, our teacher brings different colleges to give presentations. So that’s a really big thing that I’m really interested in.”

Liranza said that Puente Scholars has exposed her to university-level expectations. That will come in handy when she is ready to transfer to one of the universities she is considering, the University of Washington, UCLA, or UC Berkeley.

How to Join Puente Scholars

For more information about the Puente Scholars Program or the Puente Club, contact Angela Sotelo at [email protected] or call (562) 908-3410, or visit the Puente Program website: https://www.riohondo.edu/support-programs/empowerment-programs/puente-program/