PUMA Center

The PUMA Center is open Monday - Thursday from 8:30am - 5:30pm and Fridays from 9am - 1pm. For all other Student Services, please check Counseling and Student Services for individual office hours. 

Overview 

The PUMA (Puente, Umoja, and MESA Achievement) Center is the home for three college access and success programs – Puente, Umoja, and MESA and was established in 2015. As a vibrant center, the PUMA Center serves students from underserved/underrepresented backgrounds by building and nurturing community through embracing and validating students' cultural identity and humanity, with an emphasis on holistic development, equity, and social justice. The Center focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration, integrating instruction and support services to address the students’ various needs, while fostering student leadership, providing mentoring, and raising cultural awareness. PUMA is a space that enables students to build community in order to achieve academic and career success, become empowered, and discover their full potential.

Services

Free immigration legal consults 

The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) is still offering free immigration legal consultations virtually to ALL California Community College students, faculty, and staff. Appointments are required. 

Make an appointment here at findyourally.com.

Tutoring 

MESA holds many tutoring opportunities for students. Visit the MESA webpage for additional information. 

Student Programming

Celebrate Women's History Month! - Thurs, March 9th, 12pm - 3pm - PUMA Lounge

Join us in the PUMA Center to celebrate Women's History Month! Learn about the influential trailblazers in our history and grab a custom made sticker. 

The Ides of March - Wed, March 15, 1pm - 3pm - PUMA Lounge

Learn the history and supernatural beliefs around the Ideas of March which takes place on the first full moon of March. It is believed that anything supernatural is supposed to happen at this time. Find a treat in our cauldron on this mysterious day. 

Be Happy with PUMA - Mon March 20, 11:30a - 4:30p - PUMA Lounge

What makes you happy? In honor of International Day of Happiness, stop by the PUMA Center on March 20th to share with us what puts a smile on your face and add it to our happiness jar!  

For additional programming and resource highlights, visit the PUMA Instagram page.

Counseling

If you need to meet with your learning community counselor, please schedule an appointment using the options listed on the Counseling Center webpage

Staff and faculty  

Office of Student Engagement and Equity
Abraham Allison Student Leader - Pride Liaison abraham photo
Mprah Asare Student Leader  mprah photo
Rosa Armendáriz Dean of Student Engagement and Equity  Photo of Rosa Armendariz
Elias Camacho Student Leader elias photo
Kristen Freeman Student Leader kristen photo
Kristina Gomez Administrative Assistant III  Photo of Kristina Gomez
Brianne Guerra Program Assistant  
Ada Ocampo Manager
Student Engagement and Early College Experiences
 Photo of Ada Ocampo
John "Max" Trujillo Program Coordinator
First Year Experience and Student Engagement
max photo
Marina Varela Program Coordinator
Student Engagement and Early College Experiences
 Marina Varela
Puente
Anthony Gonzales Coordinator and English Instructor  anthony photo
Brenda Gonzalez Coordinator and Counselor Photo of Brenda Gonzalez
Stephanie Razo Coordinator and English Instructor  stephanie photo
Maria Dorado Coordinator and Counselor  
Umoja
Andrea Medina Coordinator andrea photo
Roniqua Cook-Greene Coordinator roniqua photo
Evangeline Ward  Coordinator vangie photo
MESA
Emmanuel Perez  Counselor  
Sean Rodriquez Program Assistant  sean photo
Counseling
Maria Dorado Counselor
General
maria smiling
Brenda Gonzalez Counselor
General/Puente
Photo of Brenda Gonzalez
Emmanuel Perez Counselor General/MESA  

 

Other resources

  • The Academic Support Center (ASC) offers free tutoring and academic support also available online. Visit their webpage for more information. Need help? Just ASC!
  • The DVC library offers an IM chat for continued support. Visit their webpage and send them a message. 

Contact the PUMA Center

Telephone:   925-969-4320 
PUMA Center's location: Learning Communities Annex (LCA) campus map
Instagram Logo @dvcpuma