While seven is regarded as a lucky number, there was no luck involved – just hard work – for Cal State San Bernardino’s Theta Iota Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha to receive its seventh consecutive National Best Chapter Award.
 
The award is the highest given by the national political science honor society.
 
In a letter to Christina Villegas, the chapter’s faculty adviser and assistant professor of political science, announcing the award, Pi Sigma Alpha Executive Director Sean Twombly wrote: “The chapter at San Bernardino continues to grow under your leadership and the chapter has won an amazing seven straight awards with you and Brian (Janiskee, department chair) at the helm. It is clear that you, Abraham Garcia as president, and the rest of chapter officers and members worked hard to sustain an active and vibrant chapter this year to keep the streak alive. With new officers elected in the fall I hope there is more to come!

“These awards are intended to recognize local chapters that are particularly active in their departments and universities and exhibit high levels of energy and creativity in furthering the goals of the honor society,” Twombly wrote.

“This year was particularly notable for the Theta Iota Chapter,” Villegas said. “Our chapter was honored with the opportunity to host the Pi Sigma Alpha Western Regional Student Research Conference, and chapter officers put together several events to encourage student engagement including fieldtrips, lectures, and the inaugural ‘Coffee with Alumni.’
 
“Our chapter's history of winning Pi Sigma Alpha’s prestigious National Best Chapter Award reflects our continued dedication to promoting academic excellence, professional growth, and civic engagement among CSUSB students and alumni,” Villegas said.


“It was a great honor to work alongside Theta Iota’s faculty adviser, Dr. Christina Villegas and my fellow officers as president this year,” said chapter president Abraham Garcia. “Receiving a National Best Chapter Award would not have been possible if it were not for the dedication and commitment of our entire team. It was a privilege to provide opportunities for fellow CSUSB students to showcase their work and to connect with other professionals within the field.
 
“Now that Theta Iota has seven consecutive National Best Chapter Awards under its belt, I hope it will continue to grow in its mission to provide fellow students with experiences that will contribute to their success,” Garcia said.

This is the 11th time the chapter has won the award since its inception in 1976. The chapter won National Best Chapter Awards in 2000, 2001, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The chapter received a National Best Chapter Adviser Award in 2002.

The CSUSB chapter was one of six to be recognized for schools with enrollments between 15,000-25,000.
 
Officers serving the chapter with Garcia were:

  • Krystle De Casas, vice president;
  • Maria Esqueda, treasurer; 
  • Bobby Martinez, secretary; and
  • Yessica Medrano, assistant program coordinator.


Founded in 1920, Pi Sigma Alpha is the only national honor society for college students of political science and government in the United States. The honor society has more than 800 chapters on college and university campuses in every state of the United States and one in Canada.

For more information on the national political science honor society, visit the Pi Sigma Alpha website and follow the society on Facebook (search @PiSigmaAlphaNational), LinkedIn at Pi Sigma Alpha, The National Political Science Honor Society and Twitter at @PSANational.

For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit inside.csusb.edu.