College Corps to pay CSUB students to serve community

Jan. 20—California's recently announced College Corps will create opportunities for Cal State Bakersfield students to serve the community while earning money for college.

"We are saying to the next generation of Californians, 'If you step up to serve your community, we are willing to help you pay for college,'" said California chief service officer Josh Fryday.

The state has put $146 million toward the new program, which is set to launch in the fall. This will enable at least 6,500 college students in California to work for organizations tackling issues in K-12 education, climate change and food insecurity.

CSUB was one of 45 universities and colleges chosen to participate in the first two years of the program. CSUB President Lynnette Zelezny said the partnership will enable 100 CSUB students to join the College Corps in the fall.

Each student in the program will receive a $7,000 stipend and $3,000 as an education award for tuition for putting in 450 hours of service over an academic year. They also can earn academic credit for their work.

There will be an "esprit de corps" among those 6,500 chosen across the state, Fryday said.

He compared it to the G.I. bill and called it a "win-win-win." The student receives funding that helps make college more affordable, while building skills and a deeper connection to the community. The community and local nonprofits are the beneficiaries of that service and that trained corps in the long run. Participating universities benefit from being the site of these programs.

When CSUB launches its program in fall, it will focus on freshman. The goal is to get students engaged and caring about the community right away. Zelezny sees the program as a way to help retain students and engage them in a key college experience: civic participation.

"This will really help with student success," she said. "Students that are involved tend to have a higher GPA and graduate on time."

There will be a special focus on recruiting those living in residence halls and Pell grant recipients, including veterans and undocumented students, or "Dreamers."

That the program is open to undocumented students sets the College Corps apart from a similar federal program, Americorps, which does not accept Dreamers. The program won't be limited to students of any major or discipline.

Joining the College Corps will be a prestigious entry on students' resumes, Zelezny said.

"Research shows that those paid opportunities mean more when it comes time to getting work after college," Zelezny added.

Community partners where College Corps students could serve include the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and Community Action Partnership of Kern, which helped CSUB become one of the 16 CSU campuses to nab a spot in the program through its application.

CAPK spokesman James Burger said the organization was proud to support the CSUB application.

"Volunteers are a vital part of several CAPK programs which provide direct services to those facing poverty in our communities, including the CAPK Food Bank — Kern County's main hub for emergency food distribution," he said, in a statement.

Zelezny said that other opportunities for students could include working with the Kern Literacy Council, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County, the Wildlands Conservancy that manages Wind Wolves Preserve and Habitat for Humanity. Students could also work on the college's own Citizen Scientist Project.

These are organizations where CSUB students already volunteer their time. Burger noted that Jazmin Barrita, a 2021 CSU Trustees' Award for Outstanding Achievement recipient, donated her time to the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, providing no-cost tax-preparation services to families.

Laura Lollar Wolfe, executive director of the Kern Literacy Council, said the group wasn't formally involved in the application process, but she looks forward to any students who come through the program.

"If they were being paid, we could rely on them and expect more — and give them more marketable opportunities," she said.

CSUB students are regular volunteers, helping to do marketing, social media and tutoring. She's witnessed the power that a community service opportunity can have on a student. One accounting student switched career paths and decided to teach, when he realized he was a natural at tutoring, she said.

"If they tutor, their experience can be life-changing for them," she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said the "you do you" ethos of modern life creates isolation and "perverse tribalism which is so corrosive to the body politic to our lives, to our happiness.

"I think we're kind of drowning in the freedom gospel," he said. "We've lost the connection to others."

Newsom said community service, volunteerism and shared experiences like the ones that the College Corps will spur are an antidote. He hopes to see the program continue and grow.

"If this things works, we can go back to the Legislature and take it to another level," Newsom said.

You can reach Emma Gallegos at 661-395-7394.