Puente Team
Teresa Castro, PUENTE/ACCESO Counselor
Teresa Castro was born and raised in San Jose, CA of Mexican immigrants. She began her educational journey at De Anza College where she was a part of the Puente Program. Puente gave her a community and support to reach higher education through mentors and counselors that guided her to transfer. After completing her Associates of Arts in English and Liberal Arts, Teresa transferred to the University of California, Berkeley and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Because of the impact that community college and Puente made on her journey she earned her Master’s of Arts in Counseling and Guidance from San Jose State University to become a counselor and serve community college students.
Teresa’s work experience began at De Anza College where she interned with the Puente Program, worked full-time with the Office of Outreach, and part-time with International Student Programs. She thrives helping first- generation and underrepresented students reach their educational goals.
Johanna Esther Carranza, HSI Faculty Coordinator
I was an ESOL student 25 years ago at College of Alameda. I started teaching Spanish and English for Montessori preschools as well as non-profit organizations 16 years ago at the same time; I worked as an ESOL/English and Spanish tutor at College of Alameda. I fell in love with teaching English and helping students from multicultural and diverse educational backgrounds. My background is in Radio & Television with emphasis in reporting and a minor in Spanish. I have been teaching ESOL at COA for almost five years. I like to create an environment where students can feel safe and they can share their culture while learning English.