It was exciting when CSUDH student Ariel Schilling got to spend her day working with trash.

Schilling’s role at AltaSea, an environmental nonprofit based at the Port of Los Angeles, involved taking pieces of plastic that have been harvested from ocean pollution, melting them down, and reshaping them into surfboard fins. It’s a fitting new use for a waste product that once threatened the marine ecosystem.

Schilling’s work at AltaSea came about through CSUDH’s College Corps program, which links students with work opportunities at local organizations, giving Toros new experiences while strengthening bonds between the university and community.

“Over the four years of College Corps at CSUDH, the program has supported 350 Fellows, who have given approximately140,000 hours of service to more than 20 community sites,” said Laurie Inman, assistant professor in the College of Education.

Students in the program can choose to work with community partners in one of three areas: P-12 education (early childhood education or elementary/middle schools), food insecurity, or climate action. Students from any major or program are eligible, and many choose to work in a field that’s different from their usual course of study.

“There is a need for some extra support for teachers in our local community, people who are physically on-site to assist them in their classrooms. Our students get to provide that assistance while learning skills that will help them in their future careers, whether as educators or in other fields,” says ECE Faculty Mentor Nara Yun.

For many students, the program also opens their eyes to new possibilities. Agustin Ramirez, a computer science major, says working at the Audubon Center in Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in Los Angeles gave him experience with technology like geographic information systems.

“I wasn’t really sure how computer science would connect with conservation, but over my two years in the program, I’vereally grown interested in merging them,” Ramirez says.

The College Corps program recently received a grant that will allow it to continue operating through 2029.

Whatever new partners come on board in the future, Schilling is happy with her experience at AltaSea. “Working here has opened up a new passion for me,” she says.

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