Incarcerated students win 2025 Alpha Gamma Sigma scholarships
On April 26, 2025, Alpha Gamma Sigma (AGS) — the academic honor society and service organization of the California Community Colleges — held an awards ceremony in Ontario, California, to announce its scholarship winners.
Although residents of Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) could not attend, their presence was felt since three won scholarships, including “the top scoring application in the state for academic, service, and leadership excellence,” according to the AGS press release.
Wendy Fong, Amy Lou Daniel and Stephanie Erends from CCWF, along with Alex Morris, Michael Thomas and Cecilio Hernandez from Valley State Prison (VSP), were among scholarship winners.
Fong had the top scoring application, Daniel and Morris tied for second in the state for service work, and Erends scored in the top 10 for academic excellence. For having the top scoring application, Fong won the Tom Jackson Award.
The AGS chapter at CCWF is a new chapter, according to Jennifer McBride, Merced College professor and an AGS faculty advisor. Thus, this is the first year CCWF students have been able to apply.
“Getting this honor society up and running has been a challenge and a thrill all at the same time,” said Fong. “The amount of people who qualify to be in our honor society is amazing. Many of our professors have said that we work harder than any student they have out there because we’re hungry for it, we want it.”
“I want to encourage everyone who thinks they can’t do it to step out of their comfort zone and apply,” said Erends. Being an AGS member is “very feasible for a lot of people. You have to be in Merced College for two semesters and have a 3.0 or higher grade point average.”
Daniel said, “Being able to come from a place where I did not enjoy school to learning how to become a student who focuses on greatness is so meaningful. I am thrilled to have been a part of this process.”
“This is our first year applying and we won all our awards,” McBride said. “Wendy Fong put us on the map. Merced College has never won the Tom Jackson award.”
“I can’t put my accomplishments into words,” said Fong. “It’s important to me because I need my daughter to know that it doesn’t matter what your circumstances are, you can do anything.”
