Cal Poly, Cuesta College students can get $10,000 for community service under new program

Local college students will soon be able to participate in a new community service program aimed at helping them pay for college and reducing the amount of debt they take on.

Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo and Cuesta Community College were among 45 schools selected Tuesday for a new state-funded program aimed at eliminating college debt for California students who serve their communities.

The California College Corps will give students who do 450 hours of service work in a year $10,000.

“It will make a difference for students, and most importantly it will make college more affordable for those who need support the most,” Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities President Kristen Soares said. “It is going to inspire a generation to serve.”

Fifty Cuesta College students and 165 Cal Poly students will be eligible to participate in the program this year.

Those selected for the program at both schools will tutor local students to make up for learning time lost to the pandemic and will partner with local organizations to fight climate change and food insecurity.

“The areas that were identified as pressing needs — K-12 education, climate change and food insecurity — represent issues that were already important to the Cuesta College community, and these issues are important across higher education,” said Jason Curtis, Cuesta College’s assistant superintendent and vice president of instruction. “For example, we work every day to address food insecurity with our students, and our students want to give back and help the community to address our collective challenges.”

Cal Poly students’ service work will mostly focus on climate action, with community partners including Ecology Action, Community Climate Solutions, Ecologistics, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and the Community Environmental Council, according to Matt Lazier, the university’s media relations director.

“Cal Poly is excited to participate in this program because it has the potential to drive real action in these three key areas and it provides financial support to students to get engaged in meaningful work that also supports their educational goals,” Lazier said. “We are hopeful that it will help provide access to higher education for many students who may not otherwise be able to attend, especially for Dreamer students.”

Program will help CA college students build up their communities, governor says

Josh Fryday, Newsom’s chief service officer, compared the program to the G.I. Bill, which paid for college for Americans who served in World War II.

The College Corps aims to do the same for students who commit to serving their community. Undocumented students brought to the U.S. as children will also be eligible to participate in the program, Fryday said.

As many as 6,500 students will be able to participate over two years.

Gov. Gavin Newsom heralded the full launch of the $146 million program and used it to contrast California with the federal government, saying “Washington (D.C.) is where things go to die.”

He argued that through this program, California can serve as a model for how to heal some of its political divisions by bringing young people from different backgrounds together to build up their community.

“If I were an autocrat, if I could decide the fate and future of this country, I would demand that all of us have some compulsory service, shared experiences,” Newsom said. “We don’t have shared experiences anymore.”

Cal Poly and Cuesta College students interested in participating in the California College Corps can apply through their respective school.

Application information is expected to be released by March and the California Volunteers’ website at www.californiavolunteers.ca.gov will be updated as more details become available.

This story was originally published January 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Cal Poly, Cuesta College students can get $10,000 for community service under new program."