Cal Poly and Partner Campuses Awarded Up To $20 Million for Three More Years of College Corps
Contact: Cynthia Lambert
Cal Poly Student Affairs Communications
cmlamber@calpoly.edu
SAN LUIS OBISPO — Cal Poly has been awarded up to $20 million over three years from California Volunteers, Office of the Governor, to continue the impactful #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program, which engages students to solve problems in their communities while helping to create debt-free pathways to college.
The award ensures that hundreds of students in the College Corps program, now in its fourth year, will continue to contribute thousands of volunteer hours at over 35 community-based sites working in four priority areas — K-12 education, climate action, healthy futures and food insecurity — through the 2028-29 academic year.
“College Corps represents something deeply powerful. At its core, this program is about service — but it is also about access, opportunity and equity,” said Terrance Harris, vice president for Cal Poly’s Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Affairs division. “College Corps recognizes that students should not have to choose between supporting themselves and pursuing their education.
“College Corps fellows are some of our state’s best and brightest — they are service-oriented, hardworking, community-minded, and engaged in active learning.”
Cal Poly serves as the lead institution for the Coastal California College Corps Consortium, which also consists of CSU Long Beach, Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College — and new this year, UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach City College. The $6.9 million grant award for the upcoming 2026-27 fiscal year will support 468 College Corps fellow positions across the consortium.
“College Corps has allowed me to gain hands on experiences in areas that I am passionate about,” second-year animal science major Mikela Priola said. “Through this program, I have been able to play a role in my community and see how my impact has played a positive role on others.”
Fellowships provide students a living stipend each month and a $3,000 education award upon completion of 450 service hours, for a total of $10,000.
“College Corps is a powerful investment in California’s future, expanding opportunities for students to serve their communities, strengthening regional partnerships and cultivating civic leadership among California’s college students,” said Josh Fryday, California chief service officer and director of the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement (GO-Serve). “Cal Poly’s leadership as a consortium lead continues to strengthen collaboration across campuses and community partners.
To date, a total of 1,196 Central Coast fellows from Allan Hancock College, Cuesta College and Cal Poly have logged more than 311,400 service hours since 2022. The number of fellows varies by site:
- At Hancock, 171 total fellows have served 55,579 hours at about two dozen partner sites since 2022.
- At Cuesta, 147 total fellows have served 35,943 hours at about 15 sites.
- At Cal Poly, 668 total fellows have served 219,917 hours at about 30 sites.
Across all sites, 41 partner organizations are involved in the College Corps program across all campuses, including the city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo Food Bank, City Farm San Luis Obispo, Ecologistics, the SLO Climate Coalition/Resilient SLO, Cal Poly Sustainability and Cal Poly Food Pantry.
“College Corps has provided me with experiences that will undoubtedly be useful in my future career,” said Angel Guerro, a third-year bioresource and agricultural engineering major. “It has also given me a sense of fulfillment as I can be assured my service is going toward helping many people in my community.”
Applications to become a College Corps fellow for the 2026-27 academic year are now open. In addition, organizations interested in becoming a partner site can also apply. Learn more about the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program at Cal Poly and statewide.
Top photo: College Corps Fellows, working to clean up the grounds at C.L. Smith Elementary School in in San Luis Obispo, take a moment to snap a selfie.
