College Students Earn $10,000 for Community Service in California

The state's College Corps program pays undergrads to work 15 hours per week at nonprofits and community organizations.

Published on Mar. 8, 2026

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The California College Corps program has recruited over 3,000 students each academic year since launching in 2022. The program pays college students, including those without permanent legal status, a $7,000 stipend for 30 weeks of 15-hour-per-week community service work. Students who complete 450 hours also receive a $3,000 educational award. The program is expanding to 52 campuses and aims to recruit 4,000 students for the next cohort.

Why it matters

College Corps provides valuable work experience and financial assistance to students, including undocumented immigrants, who may otherwise lack access to paid job opportunities that fit around their academic schedules. The program helps address food insecurity, education gaps, and other community needs across California.

The details

College Corps fellows serve in roles like tutoring incarcerated youth, working at food banks and campus pantries, and assisting with community organizations. The program is open to full-time undergraduates at participating UC, CSU, community college, and private college campuses. Students are selected based on their interest in service and financial need. Over 200 students applied for 98 spots at UC Berkeley alone.

  • College Corps launched as a pilot program in 2022.
  • The state allocated $83.6 million in funding for College Corps in 2026-27, plus a one-time $5 million allotment this academic year to expand the program.

The players

Josh Fryday

Director of California Service Corps, the statewide initiative that includes College Corps.

Katrina Gilmore

Director of College Corps at Cal State Bakersfield.

Ashley Kelly

Supervisor for the College Corps program at UC Berkeley.

DJ Nunley

A UC Berkeley senior and College Corps fellow who tutors and mentors incarcerated youth.

Lori Dominguez

A College Corps fellow at Cal State Bakersfield who serves with Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

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What they’re saying

“When the government shut down and there was a huge shortage or huge demand at the food bank and they needed support, it was our College Corps members that got deployed. Same thing after the fires.”

— Josh Fryday, Director of California Service Corps

“I wanted to make sure that we gave an opportunity to our Dreamers to be part of [College Corps]. We've had unbelievable success stories of AB 540 students... [by] having this program change their lives and giving them opportunities that they, quite frankly, have been excluded from for far too long.”

— Josh Fryday, Director of California Service Corps

“For undocumented students, there are not a lot of things that you can apply to be part of. So that was also kind of like my only opportunity.”

— Rafael, Immigrant student and College Corps fellow

“That just demonstrated to us that there's a huge desire and demand to do this program, that the program is working, it's impactful, and we just need to keep working to create more opportunities for students to be part of programs like this.”

— Josh Fryday, Director of California Service Corps

“[College Corps] helped us out a big deal... We have a lot of children and raising kids is not easy. And financially, it's a lot on us.”

— DJ Nunley, UC Berkeley student and College Corps fellow

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

College Corps demonstrates how mission-driven programs can provide meaningful work experience, financial assistance, and community impact for underserved college students, including undocumented immigrants, helping to address inequities in higher education and workforce opportunities.