AGS HISTORY

Alpha Gamma Sigma has been in existence for more than 70 years. In the spring of 1922, W.T. Boyce, then Dean of Fullerton College, conceived the idea of forming a state wide organization of junior college honor societies as a means of recognizing and encouraging high scholastic achievement among junior college students. It was not until 1926 however, that the full architecture of AGS was completed. During the first year, Chapters were established at Bakersfield, Chaffy, Fullerton, Santa Ana, Santa Maria and San Bernadino Colleges. The next year brought in Citrus, Sacramento, Compton, Glendale, Long Beach, Taft and Pomona Colleges.

AGS at West Valley College (Gamma Iota Chapter) was chartered within the second year of the West Valley district's existence and was very active until the mid-seventies. The chapter was inactive for several years until the spring of 1980 when two students, Sylvia Castro and Rosa LoGerfo, having seen the name mentioned in college documents, decided to try and reactivate the chapter. A member of the Speech Department, Jo Ann Lawlor, agreed to be the faculty advisor. From that small beginning, AGS at West Valley Community College has grown to be one of the largest and most active organizations on campus.

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