Isela Ponce in New York

The Puente Leadership Development and Employment Program is not just the most popular way for South Coast students to earn money doing cool summer internships, it’s the only way. Growing up in these rural enclaves, most students lack easy access to a car – a summertime must. That makes commuting to a job impossible. Puente has changed the equation, and increasingly, students are becoming worldlier as a result.

Take Isela Ponce, who studies international business at Cal State Pomona. Last summer, she pioneered a new Puente summer internship in the Marketing & Outreach Department at Cañada College, and earned rave reviews from her supervisor as she learned about the business side of running the community college’s public platforms.

Puente arranged for Ponce’s internship and transportation to and from Cañada College in Redwood City four days a week (as it does for all youth interns) along with two other Puente youth who worked in the college’s Upward Bound program.

Ponce learned a huge amount, especially about social media marketing, says Megan Rodriguez Antone, Director of Marketing, Communications & Public Relations at Cañada College.

“When the Marketing & Outreach Department held brainstorm sessions, Isela was incredibly involved and a part of the team so that she could get as much professional experience as possible,” says Rodriguez Antone.

Ponce handled every task with a smile. She helped the college plan its 50th anniversary celebration in 2018, by researching how other colleges have marked similar milestones. She kept the department’s Flickr account updated and blogged for the college website. Cañada is launching a mobile-friendly website, and Ponce offered feedback that helped the team craft an experience that catered to students. She also assisted Cañada’s International Student Center & Office of Student Life & Leadership Development in data collection.

“She was a force to be reckoned with, starting from Day One. She held high-level communication skills, and her enthusiasm was off the charts; she embraced every assignment with great excitement,” recalls Rodriguez Antone, who had such a positive experience that she is looking forward to welcoming another Puente youth intern this summer.

At its core, the Puente Youth Leadership Development and Employment Program is about helping youth find their passion and stay on track academically as they prepare for college (or prepare to finish college). The most popular part of the program, which gives local youth support from Puente staff year-round, are the summer internships. This summer, a record 48 youths applied.

“This year we’re blowing it out of the water,” says Lizeth Hernandez, Education Director for Puente. “We’re so excited.”

In the modern Bay Area, proximate to Silicon Valley and some of the best colleges and universities in America, Puente’s youth program participants are surrounded by unparalleled opportunities – but access is a major stumbling block. Puente’s Friday field trips – to universities, tech companies, and faraway neighborhoods like San Francisco’s Chinatown – are designed to give the rural students a taste of that outside world. And as the internship program evolves, Puente is working to match students with work opportunities that speak to their personal interests, which have grown more sophisticated and more specific.

Puente has connected students who have an interest in STEM (science, technology, math and engineering) with an internship at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. A student who wanted to practice being a dental hygienist got to spend the summer in a dentist’s office. A student who wants to be a car mechanic got an internship in a garage.

“This year, one youth said he would really like to explore aerospace engineering, and that’s very specific. We have two youths who want to be pediatric nurses,” says Hernandez. “I want to align their internships with all of their interests, and that becomes a little bit more challenging.”

One of Puente’s oldest partnerships is with YMCA Camp Jones Gulch in La Honda. Four to six teenagers from Pescadero spend the summer working as camp counselors in a day camp program created just for Pescadero-based elementary school-aged children. It’s a demanding job that requires a lot of attention as kids hike, swim, do archery, make art, and ride the zip line.

The Puente interns have usually never been to summer camp themselves, and they often find the outdoor adventures as novel as the children. They also get to bond with resident staff – that is, the full-time counselors who come from all over the world and spend the summer running the sleep-away program at camp.

“It is a global community here… and all of a sudden, these Pescadero youth get to be a part of that,” says Jessi Prevost, Youth & Family Director at Camp Jones Gulch.

She remembers one young man from Puente who spent a whole week training alongside the resident staff of the camp, sleeping away from home for the first time, meeting other teens from countries on the other side of the world. It affected him profoundly, says Prevost.

“The kid had a smile stretched across his face. You couldn’t get rid of it. I remember him saying, ‘This is what I want to do. I want to be a resident camp staff.’

Puente is the only program where the nonprofit pays the interns’ salaries at Camp Jones Gulch. They get free access to all the facilities, free lunch, and a supervisor assigned to oversee the group. It’s a true partnership. And it’s gotten even better in recent years, because Puente youth are finding new opportunities at Camp Jones Gulch. Two young men who love cooking have come to work in the kitchen. “They hit it out of the park,” says Prevost.

And last summer, a Puente youth became the youngest-ever ropes course intern, at 16. It’s a special challenge because so much of the work has a psychological element – the job is to create a space where people can use teamwork to solve problems together. Sometimes that means stepping in to help, sometimes not.

“Being able to read people is important. Knowing when to offer words of encouragement, or when to step back. Having someone’s life in your hands. Those are some pretty intense life skills you’re learning,” Prevost says.

This summer won’t just be about work. Puente has some exciting field trips planned for its youth participants, including a kayaking adventure. Given the current political climate, Puente also decided to add civic engagement to the program. Students will spend a day volunteering in a refugee center.

“It’s really important for the youth to understand that even though they feel isolated here, an hour away you have different communities with their own challenges and obstacles,” says Hernandez.

Empathy, leadership, communication, maturity – these are qualities that will help students achieve their professional goals, no matter what they are.

We are grateful for the generous support of Kim and Philip Schiller, the Sobrato Family Foundation, Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, Sand Hill Foundation, the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, Wells Fargo and many individual donors who all support Puente’s Youth Leadership Development and Employment Program.

Do you have an internship opportunity that would provide a unique learning experience for South Coast youth? Please email Lizeth Hernandez.

The growth and impact of Puente’s Youth Employment and Leadership Programs is only possible thanks to the generous support of donors like you. Please consider donating to our Youth Program and help us continue to improve the quality of life for families on the South Coast. Donate here.

El mes próximo, Paola Flores se graduará de la preparatoria de Pescadero con otros 31 compañeros y compañeras. Es un momento emocionante. Pero la emoción por la graduación también está cargada con estrés por lo que seguirá a continuación para muchos jóvenes, incluyendo a Flores. Las grandes incógnitas: la universidad y cómo pagarla.

Flores estuvo en la incertidumbre hasta último momento para escoger entre sus dos universidades de cuatro años favoritas para las que había sido aceptada: Cal Poly Pomona en el sur de California, y la Universidad de Utah. Ambas tienen programas de renombre en ingeniería civil, que es en lo que Flores espera titularse. Pero como estudiante universitaria de primera generación -y alguien que apenas ha explorado la zona de la Bahía más allá de Pescadero- un futuro en el que va a pasar de una preparatoria con 100 estudiantes a ser una estudiante de primer año entre otros 5000 es casi inconcebible. Estaba inundada de indecisión.

“Realmente no sé lo que voy a hacer. Por eso es por lo que estoy tan frustrada y tengo miedo” dijo Flores. (Finalmente acabo escogiendo Cal Poly Pomona.)

El estrés sobre los costos también le está pesando. “Sé que la mayoría de las universidades van a ser caras” dice Flores, que trabaja los fines de semana en la tienda de segunda mano de South Coast Children’s Services para ahorrar dinero para la universidad. También sabe que necesitará un trabajo en el campus.

Afortunadamente, Puente está ahí para ayudarla con los gastos de la universidad. Dado que durante mucho tiempo ha sido participante del Programa Juvenil de Puente (conocido oficialmente como el Programa de Empleo y Desarrollo de Liderazgo Juvenil de Puente), Flores se beneficiará de fondos de la Beca promovida por Puente el día de su graduación. Le ayudará a pagar los libros, la enseñanza y otros gastos cuando llegue a la universidad. Cuanto más tiempo participen los estudiantes en el programa de juventud de Puente, más dinero recibirán al graduarse.

“Siento como que todo ayuda”, dice Flores, cuyos padres no tienen muchas posibilidades de ayudarla a pagar la universidad.

Flores es una estudiante motivada y comprometida que comenzó a tomar clases avanzadas en el colegio comunitario mientras estaba en la preparatoria. Como resultado ella recibirá becas comunitarias, unas de cuales Puente ayuda a administrar, como también sumas record en otras becas– casi $40,000 están disponibles por donadores generosos a través del districo escolar de La Honda-Pescadero.

Pero los préstamos para estudiantes son una certeza, y Flores está temerosa por tener que cargar con una deuda pesada y por la incertidumbre sobre el tiempo que le llevará pagarla.

Puente también ha estado ahí ayudándole con esas preguntas. Como joven de Puente, Flores ha tenido acceso ilimitado a consejería individualizada sobre la Universidad con Lizeth Hernández, la Directora Educativa de Puente, que supervisa el programa juvenil. Hernández ayuda a los estudiantes a entender los paquetes de ayuda financiera, que pueden resultar confusos, y a llenar los documentos de última hora. Cuando los estudiantes se encuentran con meteduras de pata administrativas, ella les ayuda a defenderse y a valerse por sí mismos.

“Personalmente creo que cualquier escuela es una gran escuela cuando un estudiante está motivado. Sin embargo, no quiero ver a ningún estudiante endeudarse más de lo que puede controlar”, dice Hernández. “Así que me aseguro de preguntarles: ¿valerá la pena el dinero que vas a deber cuando te gradúes en cuatro años?”

Según Hernández, en la Costa Sur, una minoría tiene padres con titulaciones avanzadas que saben exactamente qué clases de verano y actividades extracurriculares los van a dejar en mejor posición para entrar en las universidades de máximo nivel. Pero la mayoría de los estudiantes son de primera generación. Sus padres no saben mucho acerca del proceso de admisiones a la universidad y a veces tienen sentimientos encontrados acerca de las universidades de cuatro años.

“Cuando tu ambiente diario no es una realidad orientada a la universidad, el entendimiento de lo que conlleva ir a la universidad suele perderse,” dice Hernández.

Por ejemplo, dice, “puedes preguntarle a cualquiera de mis jóvenes si quieren ir a la universidad, y el 90 por ciento de ellos te dirán que sí. Si les pides que te expliquen cómo llegar allí, la conversación comienza a ponerse turbia”.

Puente intenta compensar por la falta de información. El proceso comienza temprano en el Programa de Empleo y Desarrollo del Liderazgo. Hay estudiantes de hasta incluso 14 años que hacen visitas a universidades locales y practican sus cartas de solicitudes de ingreso a la universidad. También hay estudiantes asistiendo a la universidad actualmente que crecieron en Pescadero que hablan con sus compañeros acerca de la vida en la universidad.

Puente lleva incluso a los padres a visitar los campus universitarios para desmitificar el concepto y responder a sus preguntas. Puente y el distro escolar de La Honda-Pescadero trabajan cercanamente para maximizar los recursos disponibles para los jóvenes en esta comunidad pequeña y rural. Este año, LHPUSD ofreció una serie de talleres sobre: preparación para la universidad, excursiones a universidades, y apoyo con aplicaciones para ayuda financiera.

Hernández y la Consejera Académica de la preparatoria de Pescadero, trabajan de manera cercada para hacer seguimiento de los estudiantes en su progreso académico y en su nivel de compromiso para llevar su educación más lejos. Intervienen y se reúnen con el estudiante y su familia cuando ven que algo falta.

El Distrito Escolar tienen autorización de los padres para compartir las boletas de calificación de todos los jóvenes de Puente cada trimestre para poder hacer seguimiento y ver si necesitan un tutor de Puente. Si es el caso, Hernández les consigue ayuda inmediatamente.

“Siempre espero que los estudiantes se gradúen con un promedio de al menos 2,5, porque abrirá más puertas” dice.

Sin embargo, en ocasiones una universidad de cuatro años no está entre las posibilidades. Una gran proporción de los graduados de la preparatoria de Pescadero se inscriben en un colegio comunitario local, donde aspiran a un programa certificado en un campo de su elección o trabajan para transferirse a una universidad más grande más adelante, cuando sea posible.

Algunos estudiantes entran en oficios. Y algunos van al ejército. Con cualquier cosa que escojan, Puente les ayuda a encontrar lo que funciona para ellos, dice Hernández.

“Algunos estudiantes no quieren ir a una universidad de cuatro años y eso está bien. Nosotros nos centramos en trabajar con la juventud para que descubran cuál es su camino”. En varias ocasiones, los intereses de los jóvenes cambian a lo largo del tiempo.

José Bernardino escogió un camino diferente. A él siempre le encantó arreglar autos. Ahora se va a embarcar en una carrera como mecánico de automóviles. “La escuela nunca fue lo mío” dice. No estudió mucho en su primer año -algo que ahora lamenta, porque sus calificaciones nunca se pusieron a la altura de sus compañeros- y eso impidió la posibilidad de tener un promedio más alto y más opciones después de la graduación.

Sin embargo, él está emocionado por la graduación, en cierto modo -porque está empezando a descubrir que la adultez no puede postergarse. “Parece que después de la preparatoria las cosas van a ser diferentes. Más responsabilidades, pagar las facturas, pagar por todo” dice.

En este momento también parece que Bernardino tendrá que inscribirse en un colegio comunitario si quiere alcanzar su sueño de abrir su propio taller mecánico un día. Necesitará una certificación como chapista para ser un profesional, e incluso otra certificación en estimados de reparaciones de colisiones. Llegará un momento en que también tendrá que aprender a cómo llevar un negocio.

También es posible que pueda inscribirse en un colegio comunitario local para recibir el entrenamiento que necesita. Espera que su Beca de Puentes Juveniles le ayude a pagar sus clases, ya que no tiene dinero ahorrado.

“Para cumplir con este objetivo tengo que ir a la universidad. Van a ser un par de años, y creo que va a ser duro” dice.

Una parte de él simplemente quiere olvidarse de la escuela y obtener un trabajo de mecánico en el “mundo real”.

“En general, ahora estoy bastante nervioso” dice.

Macías ha sido un joven de Puente desde los 14 años. Descubrió la cocina en el verano de 2013 como estudiante en la Academia Culinaria Juvenil de Puente, y todavía trabaja como cocinero en el campamento de Loma Mar de la YMCA -uno de los tres trabajos que tiene de manera regular.

Macías ha dado prueba de tener talento para dar apoyo académico y cuidados a estudiantes más jóvenes a través de Puente y del Campamento Pantera, el programa de escuela de verano organizado por el Distrito Escolar Unificado de La Honda-Pescadero.

Como Bernardino, a Macías le encanta arreglar autos. Ya ha aprendido cómo cambiar el aceite, las baterías y la transmisión de su auto. Ha arreglado el auto de su hermano mayor y los de sus amigos. Ahorra para comprarse ropa, pagar la seguranza de su auto y para contribuir a la comida de su casa.

“Mi padre trabaja muy duro y no pide mucho de nosotros. Le ayudamos con los pagos, para que le sea más fácil” dice.

Su padre estuvo en el ejército. Tanto su padre como su madre lo apoyan si el decide enlistarse, (una de sus opciones actualmente) pero su madre se preocupa por su seguridad. Macías dice que él también está preocupado, pero que el riesgo merece la pena por las recompensas: viajar, orgullo, éxito.

De los 31 estudiantes de último curso que se preparan para graduarse el mes próximo, 18 de ellos – cerca del 60% — son jóvenes quienes han participado en el programa de jóvenes Liderazgo y Desarrollo.

Hernández dice que se ha dado cuenta de que algunos jóvenes tienen dudas sobre si dejar la comunidad para ir a la universidad, o cualquier siguiente paso que les espere. Incluso si están nerviosos por dar ese salto, como Flores, Hernández sabe que estudiar y vivir lejos de casa puede ser transformador. Pero algunos estudiantes preferirían viajar cada día desde los hogares de su infancia en Pescadero a vivir en el campus.

“Por primera vez, pienso que muchos de los jóvenes están descubriendo ahora la comodidad de haber crecido en una comunidad pequeña” dice. “Esperamos que los que están inseguros, amplíen sus horizontes.”

Por favor apoye el program de becas de Puente. Sus contribuciones a este programa son esenciales para apoyar a estudiantes como Paola, Omar y Jose en la universidad y en alcazar su potencial académico. ¡Done ahora!

Next month, Paola Flores will graduate from Pescadero High School with 31 other classmates. It is an exciting time. But the excitement of graduation is weighted with stress over next steps for many youth, Flores included. The big unknowns: college and how to pay for it.

Flores came right down to the wire in choosing between her two favorite four-year universities that accepted her: Cal Poly Pomona in Southern California, and the University of Utah. Both have renowned programs in civil engineering, which is what Flores intends to major in. But as a first-generation college student – and someone who’s barely even explored the Bay Area outside of Pescadero – the prospect of going from a high school with 100 students to a freshman class of more than 5,000 is nearly inconceivable. She was wracked with indecision.

“I really don’t know what to do. That’s why I’m so frustrated and scared,” said Flores. (She finally chose Cal Poly Pomona.)

Financial stressors are weighing on her, too. “I know most schools are going to be expensive,” says Flores, who works weekends at South Coast Children’s Services Thrift Shop to save money for college. She knows she will need to get a job on campus, too.

Fortunately, Puente is there to help with college expenses. As a longtime participant in Puente’s youth program (officially known as the Puente Youth Leadership Development and Employment Program), Flores will earn Youth Bridges Scholarship monies from Puente on graduation day. It will help her pay for books, tuition and other expenses when she gets to college. The longer a local student participates in the Puente youth program, the more funding they receive when they graduate.

“I feel like anything is going to help,” says Flores, whose parents are unlikely to be able to assist her with paying for college.

Flores is a driven and committed student who started taking advanced community college classes while she was still in high school. As a result, she may also earn some community scholarships, some of which Puente helps to administer, as well as be eligible for a record number of dollars – almost $40,000 made available from generous donors through the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District. However, student loans are a certainty, and Flores is fearful of being saddled with debt and unsure how long it will take her to pay it back.

Puente has been there to help with those questions, too. As a Puente youth, Flores has unlimited access to one-on-one college counseling with Lizeth Hernandez, Puente’s Education Director who oversees the youth program. Hernandez helps students understand their financial aid packages, which can be confusing, and fill out all the last-minute forms. When students encounter administrative snafus, she helps them advocate for themselves.

“I personally believe that any school is a great school when a student is committed. However, I don’t want to see a student take on more debt than they can handle,” says Hernandez. “So I make sure I ask them – is it worth the money you’re going to owe when you graduate in four years?”

A small number of students on the South Coast have parents with advanced degrees, and they know exactly which summer classes and extracurricular activities will better position them to get into their top-choice schools. However, most students are first-generation. Their parents do not have much information about the college admissions process and they sometimes have mixed feelings about four-year universities.

“When your daily environment is not college-bound reality, understanding what it takes to get to college tends to get lost,” says Hernandez.

For example, she says, “You can ask any of the youth if they want to go to college, and 90 percent of them will tell you yes. If you ask them to explain to you how to get there, it gets murky.”

Puente tries to make up the information shortfall. The process starts early in the Leadership Development and Employment Program. Students as young as 14 take field trips to visit local universities and practice preparing their personal statements for college. Current college students who grew up in Pescadero speak to their younger counterparts about college life.

Puente even takes parents on field trips to college campuses, to demystify the concept and answer their questions. Puente and the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District partner closely together to maximize the resources that are available to youth in this small rural high school. This year LHPUSD offered a series of workshops on college preparedness, field trips to local universities, and support with applying for financial aid.

Hernandez and Pescadero High School’s college counselor work closely to track a student’s academic progress and level of commitment to furthering their education. They will step in and meet with the student and their family when something seems amiss.

The local school district has authorization from parents to provide Hernandez report cards for all Puente youth on a quarterly basis, so she can keep track of whether they need a Puente tutor. If so, Hernandez gets them help right away.

“I always hope that students will graduate with at least a 2.5 GPA, because it will open more doors,” she says.

But sometimes a four-year college is not in the cards. A large proportion of Pescadero High School graduates enroll in a local community college, where they either pursue a certificate program in their chosen field or work toward transferring to a larger university later on, when they can afford it.

Some students go into the trades. In addition, some go into the military. Whatever they choose to do, Puente helps them find what fits, says Hernandez. “Some students don’t want to go to a four-year and that’s totally fine. It’s more about working with the youth to figure out a path for them.”

Jose Bernardino chose a different path. He has always loved fixing cars. Now he will embark on a career as an auto mechanic. “School was never my thing,” he says. He studied poorly in his first year – something he now regrets, because his grades never caught up to his peers’ and it foreclosed the possibility of a higher GPA and more choices after graduation.

But he is only “kind of excited” to graduate – because he is starting to realize that adulthood cannot be deferred. “It looks like after high school, things are going to be different. More responsibilities, paying bills, paying for everything,” he says.

Right now, it also looks like Bernardino will have to enroll in community college if he wants to achieve his dream of opening his own auto body shop one day. He will need a certification in auto body painting and refinishing to be a professional and further certification in collision repair estimating. Eventually, he will also need to learn how to run a business.

He may enroll in a local community college to get the training he needs. He is hoping his Youth Bridges Scholarship will help him pay for his classes, since he has no money saved.

“In order to complete this goaI, I have to go to college. It’s going it be a couple of years, and I believe it will be hard,” he says.

Part of him just wants to forget about school and get a mechanic job in the ‘real world.’ “Overall, I’m pretty nervous right now,” he says.

Omar Macias has been a Puente youth since he was 14. He discovered cooking in the summer of 2013 as a student in Puente’s Youth Culinary Academy, and he still works as a cook at YMCA Camp Loma Mar – one of three jobs he holds down on a regular basis.

Macias has proven to be gifted in tutoring and caring for younger students through Puente and Panther Camp, the summer school program run by the La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District.

Like Bernardino, Macias loves fixing cars. He has already learned how to replace the oil, batteries and transmission on his car. He has fixed his older brother’s car and his friends’ cars. He saves his money to buy himself clothes, pay for this car insurance, and chip in for food at home.

“My dad works really hard and he doesn’t ask much from us. We help him pay, so it makes it easier on him,” he says.

His dad was in the military. Both his parents will support his decision to enlist, one of his current options, but his mom is worried about his safety. Macias says he is worried too, but the risk is worth the rewards: travel, pride, and success.

Of the 31 seniors set to graduate next month, 18 of them – or nearly 60% – are youth that have participated in the Puente Youth Leadership and Development Program. Hernandez says that she has been noticing that some youth are hesitant to leave the community for college, or whatever next steps await them. Even if they are nervous about taking the leap, like Flores, Hernandez knows that studying and living away from home can be transformative. But some students would rather commute from their childhood homes in Pescadero than live on campus.

“For the first time, I think a lot of the youth are now realizing how comfortable they’ve been growing up in a small community,” she says. “Those in fear will benefit from broadening their horizons.”

Please support Puente’s Youth Bridges scholarship program. Your contributions to this program are essential in helping students like Paola, Omar and Jose succeed in college and fulfill their potential. Donate Today!