For 16 years, Fresno State has contributed over 1 million hours of community service each year. In the 2024-25 academic year, Fresno State students, faculty and staff hit an all-time record of 1.6 million hours of service, which had an economic impact of nearly $66.5 million.
From students giving back to faculty lending their expertise to the community, these Bulldogs are making a difference and representing the value of both service and learning.
1. Ag business student receives CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement
Raised on his family’s third-generation dairy farm in Stanislaus County, Fresno State agricultural business student Anthony Agueda credits his immigrant grandparents for inspiring his passion for agriculture. Now, he’s a recipient of the prestigious CSU Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement, recognizing his academic excellence, community service and leadership. While completing his degree, he has actively contributed to the ag community through initiatives like hosting virtual farm tours and organizing milk drives to combat hunger. Agueda plans to use his degree to continue improving sustainability at his family’s Alberto Dairy, aiming for net-zero operations while carrying forward his family’s legacy.
2. University, community partners support parent-scholars with school supplies
The Student Health and Counseling Center supported almost 200 parent-scholars and their families, which included more than 450 children of Fresno State students, with school supplies. It represents Fresno State’s commitment to easing the burdens of parent-scholars who are juggling the demands of higher education while raising a family. Students like Maria Arredondo say it’s her support system that helped her graduate as a parent first and student second.
3. Alumna leads campus blood drive, inspired by personal connections
Inspired by watching her mother undergo years of blood transfusions, Fresno State alumna Kayla Ferreira turned a deeply personal experience into a lifelong mission to promote blood donation. Now a special projects coordinator at the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning, Ferreira helps lead Fresno State’s campus blood drives in partnership with the Central California Blood Center. Her journey began as a volunteer in 2021, and after overcoming her own fears to donate, she now inspires others to do the same. Ferreira continues to grow the program, which hosts two blood drives a semester and collects hundreds of donations each drive.
4. Winner announced for John D. Welty Award for Excellence in Community Service
Kelsey Ferreira, a first-generation college student and sister of previously mentioned Kayla Ferreira, was honored with the 2024 John D. Welty Award for Excellence in Community Service, which includes a $2,500 scholarship recognizing her exceptional dedication to serving others. With over 1,300 service hours, Ferreira has played a key role in increasing blood donor turnout through her leadership with the Richter Center and partnership with the Central California Blood Center, recruiting more than 180 campus ambassadors and boosting donations by an average of 50% per drive. Her service extends to environmental education through Fresno State’s College Corps and Climate Solutions team, as well as volunteering at organizations like Martin Park and Stone Soup Fresno. Serving as the 2024-25 president and director of operations for the Richter Center Student Leadership Club, Ferreira continues to lead and inspire a culture of giving on and off campus.
5. Taking Medicine to the Streets
Every Wednesday, Fresno State alumnus and faculty member, Dr. Bryan Tune, leads a medical team on the streets of Madera and Fresno to provide no-cost primary health care services to residents in the area, including those who are unhoused or lack basic medical care. With Tune as the primary clinician, he includes one or two nurse practitioner students in the Master of Science in Nursing program at Fresno State. It’s his way to mentor them and stay committed to service and lifelong learning.
6. Fresno State hosts ‘It’s Basic’ documentary screening after launch of guaranteed income pilot
Fresno State’s Center for Community Voices is uplifting local families through a new Guaranteed Basic Income pilot program that provides 150 families with $500 monthly for one year, funded entirely by philanthropic partners. Faculty and students are not only researching the program’s impact but also amplifying participant stories to show how small investments can foster dignity, economic inclusion and long-term change. The center hosted a free premiere screening of the documentary “It’s Basic,” which highlighted U.S. families who participated in the pilot program.
7. Amendola Family Student Cupboard celebrates 10th anniversary; honors late donor
Last fall, the Fresno State community celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Amendola Family Student Cupboard, which provides free food and hygiene items to Fresno State students. Since its inception in 2014, the cupboard has been visited nearly 500,000 times, serving almost 30,000 students and their families. The celebration honored the Treviño family, including the late Ermelinda Treviño, whose philanthropic partnership helped the cupboard thrive and included the launch of the CSU’s first diaper distribution program that has supported over 10,000 families since 2019.
(Story by Kirsten Martinez)
