College Corps expands: state officials and student fellows describe $10,000 service scholarships and scaling plans

The governor’s College Corps, part of the California Service Corps, offers students up to $10,000 in education support in exchange for 450 hours of community service, officials told the Board of Governors. The program targets tutoring, climate action, food security and other community needs while offering students work experience, networking and debt‑reduction benefits.

Josh Friday, director of the Governor’s Office of Service and Community Engagement, told the board the program is modeled as "a GI Bill with this very simple deal: if you're willing to serve your community, we're gonna help you pay for college." He said last year’s program filled thousands of slots: "For our over 3,000 positions, we had 11,000 applications," a data point officials presented to show student demand.

Miguel Dueñas, vice president of student services at East Los Angeles College, described on‑campus impacts: the campus has placed fellows into internships and observed students complete certificates and transfer to the University of California and California State University systems. He said 22 fellows from ELAC have enrolled at four‑year institutions and many remain connected to the program.

Fellow DJ Nunley, a recent College Corps participant now enrolled at UC Berkeley, described how the stipend and service experience changed his trajectory. "I joined College Corps, and I'm honestly say it changed my life... Without them, I would have never been able to be accepted to UC Berkeley," Nunley told the board, describing how service roles and financial support let him continue his studies and serve incarcerated learners.

Board members praised the program’s equity focus and asked about scalability. Friday said the governor proposed state budget expansions and that California has kept the program funding largely state‑driven: historically only a small share of College Corps funding came from AmeriCorps; the administration is pursuing additional partnerships to sustain and scale the program amid federal uncertainty. He and trustees discussed expanding the program to high schools, creating regional partnerships with nonprofit and workforce boards, and examining how AB 540 (Dreamer) students access stipends. Officials said Dreamers can participate and receive the stipend through campus fellowship structures.

Public commenters — family members of a fellow — described personal impacts and urged continued support for the program.

Provenance: Presentations and a short video appeared during Item 5.2, California Service Corps and College Corps program.