The Cross Cultural Partners Program (CCP) is a non-profit, student-centered learning
program for De Anza college students. CCP pairs students of different cultural backgrounds
for one academic quarter to promote English conversations about cultural traditions,
social customs and campus life.
Even before Cross Cultural Partners became an official program at De Anza College, several ESL instructors paired their students with students from other classes within the Language Arts division for English conversations and cross-cultural exchange.
The results were positive. However, the instructors realized that a coordinated program with financial backing could reach more students. In the Spring of 2000, ESL instructors Megan Elsea, Gloria Heistein and Katie Dunlap developed the new CCP program, and Elsea wrote the first grant proposal to obtain funding from the De Anza Student Body.
The Fall of 2000 marked the official start of CCP. Elsea, Dunlap and Heistein became the first CCP Coordinators, overseeing 80 students in the first quarter of the program. Since then, the program has grown to over 300 students a quarter. Christine Chai, Katie Dunlap, Webb Hamilton and Gloria Heistein have coordinated the program. Approximately 1000 students per academic year participate in CCP.