IVC’s Puente Program recently held a ceremony commemorating the accomplishments of its members, celebrating Puente transfer students, and recognizing the current cohort's completion of Phase One. In attendance were current Puentistas, their loved ones, Puente mentors, faculty and staff, department deans, community members, and President Hernandez. The event included speeches by guest speakers such as IVC alumni, award-winning author, and literary arts advocate Sarah Rafael García, and transfer Puentista Frieda Sophia Lopez.
During the celebration, the program's transferring Puentistas, Frieda Sophia Lopez and Zayra Lopez, were acknowledged for their acceptance into multiple four-year universities. Sophia Lopez will be a Communications major attending the University of California, Berkeley, and Zayra Lopez will be a Sociology major attending the California State University, Long Beach. Additionally, 13 Puentistas from cohorts one and two have been identified as IVC 2023 Scholarship Recipients. Cohort Three recruitment is currently underway for IVC's Puente Program.