(Santa Ana, CA) – Santa Ana College (SAC) students Victoria Altamirano and Muadh Abdul Hakim were awarded the Kathleen D. Loly scholarship for outstanding academics. This scholarship is awarded exclusively to members of Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS).
Victoria Altamirano studied at SAC to become a nurse and graduated as a President’s Scholar Medalist. In the 2019-2020 school year, she was Inter-Club Council representative for the Omicron chapter of AGS, a member of international honor society Phi Theta Kappa, national psychology honor society Psi Beta, and national English honor society Sigma Kappa Delta. Throughout her time at SAC, she worked at Disneyland to support her family alongside her single mother. She is a first-generation college student and has ADHD, making her above 3.7 GPA all the more impressive.
Muadh Abdul Hakim was a member of SAC’s basketball team and studied psychology. He also graduated a President’s Scholar Medalist. In addition to AGS, he was a member of Phi Theta Kappa and Psi Beta. He was homeschooled for much of his life, and throughout his time at SAC, gave back to the community as a teacher’s aide for students with special needs in the classroom.
AGS awards are typically awarded to students based on two categories: service and academics. Both Altamirano and Abdul Hakim received awards in academics.
Kathleen D. Loly was born in England and emigrated to the United States. She taught Spanish at Pasadena City College and was one of the original founders of AGS in 1926. The name of the society signifies its values: Alpha stands for arete meaning “excellence,” Gamma stands for gnosis meaning “knowledge,” and Sigma stands for sophrosyne meaning “wisdom.” Prior to her death in 1958, Loly bequeathed her estate to AGS, and these monies formed the basis of a stock portfolio from which AGS derives its ability to award the Loly Scholarship each year. Additionally, Santa Ana College has one of the original chapters of AGS, which is why its chapter is titled one letter, Omicron.
For more information about Alpha Gamma Sigma, visit agshonor.org. For more information about Santa Ana College, visit sac.edu.
About Santa Ana College
Santa Ana College (SAC), which turned 100 years old in 2015, serves about 27,000 students each semester at its main campus in Santa Ana. The college prepares students for transfer to four-year institutions and provides invaluable workforce training and customized training for business and industry. In addition, another 11,000 students are served through the college’s School of Continuing Education located at Centennial Education Center. Ranked as one of the nation’s top two-year colleges awarding associate degrees to Latino and Asian students, the college is also recognized throughout the state for its comprehensive workforce training programs for nurses, firefighters, law enforcement and other medical personnel. SAC is one of two comprehensive colleges under the auspices of the Rancho Santiago Community College District.
