作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2022年10月10日

More than 3,200 college students, including 103 from 萨克拉门托 State, began their journeys on Friday as California’s first College Corps members, committing to projects that will pay them to uplift their communities and build their futures.

In a festive swearing-in ceremony for the inaugural #CaliforniansForAll College Corps class, Gov. Gavin 新闻om praised the student Fellows for taking part in a program that will address some of the state’s most pressing concerns.

“You don’t have to have formal authority to move the needle on important issues,” 新闻om said during the event at the California Natural Resources Agency building in downtown 萨克拉门托. “You’ve got moral authority.”

数百名学生亲自参加了这次活动，而其他人则通过虚拟方式参加了活动。 University administrators, the campus cheer team, and 囊状态’s mascot Herky the Hornet also attended the live ceremony.

Tia Rowe, a Fellow who is studying Social Sciences at 囊状态 and plans to become a teacher, was one of the day’s featured speakers.

“You and I are going to be part of a movement toward change,” Rowe told the gathering. “We’re going into our own communities and playing an active role in building them up.”

在接下来的10个月里，罗和其他研究员将参与全州的社区服务项目，解决气候变化、教育公平和粮食不安全等问题。 完成奖学金后，学生将获得450小时社区服务的7000美元，以及3000美元的教育奖励。

囊状态 is working in partnership with UC Davis, 萨克拉门托 City College, and Woodland Community College as 萨克拉门托山谷#加州全民联盟. 研究员将指导和指导K-12学生，从事防洪和其他环境项目，并与需要食物和营养支持的居民接触，以及其他项目。

Josh Fryday, chief service officer in 新闻om’s administration, said the project is an opportunity “to be part of something bigger than ourselves,” and to “begin a life of service” to others. 600多个社区组织参与了这项工作。

“California is saying that, because you are working to serve your community, we are going to help you pay for school,” Fryday told the Fellows, who include undocumented students known as Dreamers.

“We believe in you,” Fryday told the audience. “We value you.”

Through the unprecedented, $146 million campaign, California is working to create new leaders and “reinvigorate active citizenship,” 新闻om said during his address.

“Leaders can be found anywhere,” he said. “Look around you.”

新闻om said College Corps is a “passion project” for his administration, and urged each Fellow to use the experience to “discover who you are.”

“Discover your ‘why,’ ” he said. “Why am I here? What’s it all about? What is the purpose of my life?”

“The happiest people I know are people who are contributing and volunteering,” 新闻om said. In a politically fractured and intensely divided society, “You are the antidote to all of the cynicism and anxiety.”