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PUMA Center
DVC campuses are closed, but the college is OPEN for online classes and services.
DVC is now delivering all classes and student services remotely, and the PUMA Center
wants to support you! If you have questions about a particular class, contact your
professor. Visit our student services page for links to all of our services, or try
our new chat options. College campuses remain closed to students until further notice.
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.
The PUMA Center offers PUMA students study rooms, computer labs, printing, tutoring, workshops, counseling and program coordinator and faculty office hours.
Hours of operation
Spring 2020: The PUMA Center is available to assist you via chat, Monday - Thursday from 10am-3pm. Click on the green chat box on the right side of your screen to begin the conversation. If we are offline, you can still submit a query for a later response.
Services
Free immigration legal consults
The Immigration Institute of the Bay Area (IIBA) is still offering free immigration legal consultations during remote session to due COVID-19 to ALL California Community College students, faculty, and staff.
Where: Call (925) 237-8581 ext. 11 or book an appointment online
When: Every Thursday from 10:30am-4:30pm.
Appointments are required. For additional information, view the English flyer or the Spanish flyer.
Tutoring
Tutoring is still available virtually during the same hours listed below!
If you need help right away with your assignments or studying on Algebra, Statistics, History, Psychology, Biology or English, call the PUMA Tutor Line: 925-222-5576. Only call during the tutoring hours 12pm-2pm or 2:15pm-4pm.
If you would like to submit a question on your academic topic, send us an email.
FOR EXAMPLE: You can submit a paper for review with a note on what you would like
a review of (e.g. Could you review my paper? I would like your thoughts on my thesis.
OR I am having trouble finding supportive evidence for my key points.)
You can also submit questions regarding study tips or to gain a better understanding
of a concept.
Location: email or 925-222-5576
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
|
12-2pm |
12-2pm Alyson |
12-2pm |
12-2pm Alyson (English, Math up to College Algebra) |
| 2:15-4pm Hali (English, Psych, History) |
2:15-4:15pm K.C. (Math, Bio, English) |
2:15-4pm Hali (English, Psych, History) |
2:15-4:15pm K.C. (Math, Bio, English) |
Puente tutoring
If you are student in the Puente program as of March 2020, follow these instructions for connecting with your cohort-linked tutor. If you are confused at all on the instructions, feel free to chat us (green bubble on right hand side of screen) or reach out to your Puente professors.
Counseling
If you need to meet with your learning community counselor, please schedule an appointment using the options listed on the Counseling webpage.
PUMA Center events
All events are currently postponed. Please follow our Instagram for updates or visit this page at a later date. However, our services are still continuing virtually. For all of DVC's events, visit the College Events calendar.
Spring 2020 College Success Workshops
The College Success Workshops are postponed until further notice.
Staff and faculty
Office of Student Engagement and Equity
| Marina Arevalo | Program Coordinator Student Engagement and High School Transitions |
 |
| Rosa Armendáriz | Dean of Student Engagement and Equity |  |
| Noha Basilious | Program Coordinator Student Engagement and High School Transitions |
 |
| Kristina Gomez | Administrative Assistant III |  |
| Ada Ocampo | Manager Student Engagement and Early College Experiences |
 |
| Patrick Talley | Administrative Assistant II Puente and Umoja |
Puente
| Maria Dorado | Coordinator and Counselor | |
| Anthony Gonzales | Coordinator and English Instructor | |
| Brenda Gonzalez | Coordinator and Counselor |  |
| Patrick Leong | Coordinator and English Instructor | |
| Patrick Talley | Administrative Assistant II | |
| Stephanie Razo | Coordinator and English Instructor |
Umoja
| Yvonne Canada | Coordinator and Counselor | |
| Eric Handy | Coordinator and Counselor |  |
| Patrick Talley | Administrative Assistant II |
MESA
| Maitreyee Chandra | Program Director |  |
| Danielle Odom | Counselor |
Counseling
| Alberto Aranda | Counselor General/Veterans |
|
| Yvonne Canada |
Counselor |
|
| Maria Dorado | Counselor General/Puente |
|
| Brenda Gonzalez | Counselor General/Puente |
|
| Eric Handy | Counselor General/Umoja |
|
| Danielle Odom | Counselor General/MESA |
|
| Thao Pham | Articulation Officer |
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 - The telephone line is currently offline. Please email us instead. |
| PUMA Center's location: | Learning Communities Annex (LCA) campus map |
 |
@DVCPuma |