Contact: Cynthia Lambert

805-756-7865; [email protected]

Nearly 200 Cal Poly Students Selected for Program’s Second Year, Alongside Students from Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The second year of the statewide #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program kicked off this month, with 195 Cal Poly fellows sworn in to dedicate their time and effort serving local organizations in three priority areas: K-12 education, climate action and food insecurity.

Cal Poly is one of nearly 50 state institutions selected by Gov. Gavin Newsom to participate in this initiative and serves as the lead institution for the Coastal California College Corps Consortium, which also includes CSU Long Beach, Cuesta College and Allan Hancock College. This year’s consortium includes 335 College Corps fellows.

“College Corps provides an opportunity for students to experience Learn by Doing and allows the community to see the positive impact that the next generation of leaders can have,” Daniel Grassian, Cal Poly senior vice provost for Academic Affairs, said to the hundreds of college fellows gathered at a Sept. 22 launch party. “We cannot wait to continue to make a positive impact for our campus and our community.”

Over the next four years, the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program will provide more than 10,000 college students statewide with opportunities to support and learn from community-based organizations. Last year, fellows across the state provided over 1.1 million hours of service to their communities. In the 2022-23 year, the Cal Poly College Corps Fellows collectively contributed 57,307 hours of service.

This year, Cal Poly has partnered with several organizations, including the city of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Coastal Unified School District, San Luis Obispo Food Bank, City Farm San Luis Obispo, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Ecologistics, the SLO Climate Coalition/Resilient SLO, Cal Poly Sustainability and Cal Poly Food Pantry. Students will serve 450 hours, earning a living stipend of up to $7,000 plus a $3,000 education award upon completion of their service hours.

“We could not do the programs we’re doing without you,” said Leslie O’Connor, director of secondary school and adult education for the San Luis Coastal district. Of the 30 fellows assigned to the school district, about a dozen will help with after-school programs at elementary school sites; the rest will serve as tutors, mentors and role models at middle and high schools.

Cal Poly master’s student Chloe Fulton, a returning fellow who served last year with Resilient SLO, a flagship program of the SLO Climate Coalition, said she enjoyed educating people about how they could make a difference.

“I encourage you to create connections with each other, but most importantly in the community,” she advised this year’s fellows.

Cal Poly Dean of Students Joy Pedersen, who led the fellows in the AmeriCorps pledge, added: “I guarantee when you’re together again at the end of this experience you will not be the same person, because service changes you. You will have made a tremendous contribution to your community, but service gives back to you as well.”

Learn more information about the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program at Cal Poly and statewide, and follow the Cal Poly program on Instagram.

Photos courtesy of Ritchie Bermudez

associate director

Cuesta College Marketing and Communications