Learning by Doing: A Fresno State Team’s Semester with Kings Water Alliance
When I signed up for my marketing class this semester, I had no idea how much I would get out of it. My name is Kevin O’Neill, and along with my three teammates, Brian Le, Emma Mendez, and Isabella Holist, we spent the semester volunteering with Kings Water Alliance (KWA), a nonprofit dedicated to providing safe drinking water to rural Central Valley residents who rely on private wells for the water in their home. What started as a class requirement quickly became one of the most meaningful parts of our semester.
Before volunteering with Kings Water Alliance, my team and I didn’t know that residential well users in our region, especially in rural areas, can be drinking water contaminated with nitrates. None of us knew how many career paths exist in the water industry, either. But beyond learning about the mission, what surprised us most was how much the work itself pushed us to grow. Standing up in front of classes to pitch our survey, approaching strangers at tabling events who had never heard of KWA, watching a teammate handle a conversation and then stepping in to try it ourselves, even bringing up KWA to coworkers and classmates, all of it forced us outside our comfort zones. The more we did it, the more comfortable we got, and by the end of the semester we had each picked up skills in public speaking, outreach, and promoting a cause.
What We Worked On
Our team supported KWA with two main projects. The first was a research survey, supporting KWA’s Ripple Effect Initiative, designed to better understand how college students and recent graduates perceive water-related careers. The second project was community outreach, primarily through tabling events.
Research Survey
The goal of the research survey was twofold: give KWA and other employers insight into what makes these jobs appealing (or not) to young people and help shape how the industry attracts the next generation of workers. Our efforts resulted in 139 people taking the survey.
Community Outreach
Our goal was to educate people about the importance of testing their wells for contaminants. KWA offers free well testing for nitrates, and for residents whose wells come back contaminated, they provide free bottled drinking water deliveries every two weeks. Getting that message out, especially to people who may not know these resources exist, was the heart of our outreach work.
Each of us Walked Away With Something Different...
“Before this project, I did not fully understand how serious nitrate contamination is in drinking water or how many households are unaware.”
– Brian Le
“[KWA] was super clear in their instructions, they had flexible hours, and they had multiple volunteer opportunities, online and in person.”
– Isabella Holist
“Unfortunately not everyone has access to clean drinking water… so this is a great opportunity to spread the word and help as many people as possible.”
– Emma Mendez
“Safe drinking water isn’t something most of us think about, but for many families in rural parts of the Central Valley, nitrate contamination is a very real problem that and many are unaware of.”
– Kevin O’Neill
What I Took Away From The Experience
Looking back, the biggest growth I experienced volunteering with Kings Water Alliance came from the moments that made me most uncomfortable. Public speaking in front of my peers to get survey responses was difficult, but doing it over and over turned out to be one of the most valuable skills I built this semester. Every tabling conversation, every classroom pitch, made the next one a little easier. It is the kind of skill I know will carry into whatever comes after graduation, and I don’t think I would have pushed myself into it without KWA giving me a reason to.
More than anything, I came away with a new appreciation for the work KWA does. Safe drinking water isn’t something most of us think about, but for countless families in rural parts of the Central Valley, nitrate contamination is a very real and dangerous problem, and many are unaware it even affects them. Others know their water isn’t safe but don’t know there are free resources available to help. That gap between the problem and the solution is exactly what KWA exists to close. Being part of that work, even in a small way, changed how I think about community impact and my own future.
Want to Get Involved?
Whether you’re a student looking for a service learning opportunity or simply a community member who wants to contribute to something that matters, I’d strongly encourage you to reach out to Kings Water Alliance. Our whole team can vouch for how organized, flexible, and welcoming they are, and for how much you’ll learn along the way.
Volunteering with KWA is about more than just giving your time to a great cause, though that alone is reason enough. It’s also a chance to push yourself in ways you might not expect. Whether that means speaking in front of a class, approaching strangers at a community event, or simply learning how to represent an organization you believe in, the experience will stretch you. Some of those benefits won’t even be obvious until you look back on them.
You can learn more about volunteering at kingswateralliance.org/volunteer. The Central Valley’s water challenges aren’t going to solve themselves, and there’s a real place for students and community members alike in the work.
