Joe Puglia - Mertorious Service

Dr. Joe Puglia remembers the moment vividly. He was at a meeting of counselors in1976 when Harold Cochrane asked if anybody was interested in working with student-athletes on campus. Puglia had just started as a counselor at Glendale in 1975 and he was anxious to take on more work and get to know more of the campus at the same time.

"I remember when I raised my hand to volunteer for the job, people were looking at me and asking if I knew what I was doing, what I was getting myself into," Puglia said. "I had grown up playing sports and had always been around athletes and I thought it would be a great way to get myself familiar with that part of the campus culture. I thought it was a great opportunity and I was right."

From 1976-2001, Puglia served as the athletic counselor for GCC student athletes in 14sports, many of whom he stays in touch with to this day. He helped them plan their class schedules, monitored their progress and helped them make decisions that could impact their lives. He also attended their events whether as sideline support at football games or as the Clerk of the Course for track meets.

Puglia also had a similar impact on GCC students through his relationship with the Associated Students of Glendale Community College (ASGCC.) "One of the greatest adventures Joe gave his students was his annual back packing trips. He would take us on a two-week adventure, somewhere in the United States, where he would teach about the history of the country, give us leadership lessons and opportunities, and more importantly, many life lessons," said former student and colleague Tzoler Oukayan. "For many of us students, he was more than a counselor and advisor, he was father figure to some and friend to many. Joe always had an open door, if not his office door, his home and family. Dr. Joe has been such a mainstay of Glendale College.

I know I speak for hundreds of his students who have benefited in some way from Joe's lessons, his friendship and his mentoring. Thank you for the love, the care and guidance you gave us throughout the years. Many of us would not be where we are today had it not been for Joe in our lives."

For a man born in New York, who attended college at the University of Dayton in Ohio and later joined the Marines and had a tour in Vietnam, Puglia's journey to Glendale College was as idyllic as his youth growing up in New York. He worked at his father's Italian Deli, Puglia's Dairy Products and the cross section of people he encountered made his transition to counselor and mentor at Glendale a perfect fit.

Over the years, Puglia developed and maintained relationships with many of the students he came into contact with and taught classes in psychology, social science, college success, strategies, study skills, career development, personal development, reading and leadership. His yearly attendance at the GCC Athletic Hall of Fame has been a reunion for him and many of the athletes whose lives he has influenced over the years.

He has often been asked at that event when he will take his place among the greatest athletes, teams and coaches to be inducted in the hall of fame and now Dr. Joe Puglia can stand among them for what he did for students and athletes at Glendale College that will never be forgotten.