San Jose State celebrates College Corps fellows as tutoring, early‑education supports and teacher pipeline
March 15, 2025 | California Volunteers, Agencies under Office of the Governor, Executive, California
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San Jose State University on Wednesday hosted a celebration of the Californians for All College Corps program where university leadership, Mayor Matt Mahan and Chief Service Officer Josh Friday highlighted the program’s role tutoring K‑12 students, supporting early childhood education and recruiting future teachers.
The university said about 80 students at San Jose State have contributed a combined 80,000 hours of service since the College Corps began in 2022; fellows receive $10,000 to help pay for college. "This program is absolutely transformative, not just for our students, but for the communities that we serve," the university’s presiding official said in opening remarks.
Why it matters: program leaders and fellows described direct classroom and after‑school impacts, curriculum development for transitional kindergarten and an intent to expand service roles as part of workforce development for educators. Josh Friday, identified in the event as chief service officer, said College Corps and related programs are recruiting more than 10,000 paid members statewide and expect the network to deliver roughly 5,000,000 hours of service this year.
Event speakers and program staff emphasized hands‑on tutoring, STEM and literacy supports in Title I after‑school programs and preschool curriculum work. The university representative said fellows introduce third‑ through sixth‑graders to computer programming and artificial intelligence using Scratch and similar tools; the speaker also said fellows are “collaborating with our college of ed to develop curriculum kits for TK teachers” that align with California’s preschool and transitional kindergarten learning foundations.
Chief Service Officer Josh Friday described College Corps, Climate Corps and other youth service programs as a "win for our service members" in skills and stipend, "a win for the community" through tutoring and library support, and "a win for the whole state" by preparing a future workforce. He said the programs began at San Jose State as pilots and have expanded: College Corps now operates on 45 campuses across California, while Climate Corps has spread to 12 other states.
Mayor Matt Mahan recounted his AmeriCorps experience and connected service to community rebuilding after the COVID‑19 pandemic: "We need to build community, rebuild social capital, [and] a sense of social connection," he said. He also described a recent city volunteer cleanup that drew more than 300 participants.
Several College Corps members spoke about their classroom and library work. Myra, introduced as a College Corps fellow at San Jose State, said she has taught fourth‑ and fifth‑grade students and led a team of nine fellows: "Watching young learners develop problem solving skills, creativity and confidence in technology has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my experience," she said. Mariana Ponce, a youth service corps member at the San Jose Public Library, described providing literacy support and STEM projects at the Educational Park branch. Ashton Nguyen, serving at Renaissance Academy at Fisher Middle School in the Alum Rock School District, spoke about building trust with students and the limits of funding alone to address broader structural challenges.
Event partners acknowledged in remarks included Campbell Union School District, RAFT San Jose, Third Street Community Center, YMCA of Silicon Valley and the university’s Center for Community Learning and Leadership. Speakers encouraged interested applicants to visit CAServiceCorps.com to apply.
No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the event; speakers presented program outcomes, recruitment goals and individual testimonials. The remarks combined program metrics (campus count, member recruitment, total service hours, stipend amount) with personal accounts from fellows and local officials.
The program discussion highlighted immediate classroom supports and a longer‑term goal of expanding the teacher pipeline; speakers noted California’s teacher shortage, with one speaker saying the state has "a shortage of over 10,000 teachers." The event concluded with continued recruitment appeals and thanks to campus and city partners.
The university said about 80 students at San Jose State have contributed a combined 80,000 hours of service since the College Corps began in 2022; fellows receive $10,000 to help pay for college. "This program is absolutely transformative, not just for our students, but for the communities that we serve," the university’s presiding official said in opening remarks.
Why it matters: program leaders and fellows described direct classroom and after‑school impacts, curriculum development for transitional kindergarten and an intent to expand service roles as part of workforce development for educators. Josh Friday, identified in the event as chief service officer, said College Corps and related programs are recruiting more than 10,000 paid members statewide and expect the network to deliver roughly 5,000,000 hours of service this year.
Event speakers and program staff emphasized hands‑on tutoring, STEM and literacy supports in Title I after‑school programs and preschool curriculum work. The university representative said fellows introduce third‑ through sixth‑graders to computer programming and artificial intelligence using Scratch and similar tools; the speaker also said fellows are “collaborating with our college of ed to develop curriculum kits for TK teachers” that align with California’s preschool and transitional kindergarten learning foundations.
Chief Service Officer Josh Friday described College Corps, Climate Corps and other youth service programs as a "win for our service members" in skills and stipend, "a win for the community" through tutoring and library support, and "a win for the whole state" by preparing a future workforce. He said the programs began at San Jose State as pilots and have expanded: College Corps now operates on 45 campuses across California, while Climate Corps has spread to 12 other states.
Mayor Matt Mahan recounted his AmeriCorps experience and connected service to community rebuilding after the COVID‑19 pandemic: "We need to build community, rebuild social capital, [and] a sense of social connection," he said. He also described a recent city volunteer cleanup that drew more than 300 participants.
Several College Corps members spoke about their classroom and library work. Myra, introduced as a College Corps fellow at San Jose State, said she has taught fourth‑ and fifth‑grade students and led a team of nine fellows: "Watching young learners develop problem solving skills, creativity and confidence in technology has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of my experience," she said. Mariana Ponce, a youth service corps member at the San Jose Public Library, described providing literacy support and STEM projects at the Educational Park branch. Ashton Nguyen, serving at Renaissance Academy at Fisher Middle School in the Alum Rock School District, spoke about building trust with students and the limits of funding alone to address broader structural challenges.
Event partners acknowledged in remarks included Campbell Union School District, RAFT San Jose, Third Street Community Center, YMCA of Silicon Valley and the university’s Center for Community Learning and Leadership. Speakers encouraged interested applicants to visit CAServiceCorps.com to apply.
No formal votes or policy actions were taken at the event; speakers presented program outcomes, recruitment goals and individual testimonials. The remarks combined program metrics (campus count, member recruitment, total service hours, stipend amount) with personal accounts from fellows and local officials.
The program discussion highlighted immediate classroom supports and a longer‑term goal of expanding the teacher pipeline; speakers noted California’s teacher shortage, with one speaker saying the state has "a shortage of over 10,000 teachers." The event concluded with continued recruitment appeals and thanks to campus and city partners.
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