2009

Every week the Oakland Grand Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church engages the community with a street ministry of healing. Led by church member Milton Hare, the ministry seeks out the needy and marginalized. The Pacific Union College Theology Club recently heard about Hare's work and decided to get involved. After their first trip to Oakland last May, senior theology major and club president William Wheeler pledged the club's continued involvement in the future. "As theology majors, our ministry starts now, not on graduation day," he says. "Milton's ministry is a perfect opportunity because it gives us a chance not only to further our ministry, but also to learn first hand how exceptional street ministry is done." The day before the ministry sets out, church members and volunteers pack around 250 lunches and gather donated clothes, blankets and basic hygiene kits. The following evening they pile into vans and distribute everything. The group drives through the streets, offering supplies to everyone they encounter. Oftentimes the group will pray with the people. It is in this way that the church builds community outside of the church construct and congregation. Many of the PUC students who went last May were amazed by Hare's ability...

Summer has begun at Pacific Union College, and the campus during the vacation season has changed dramatically from the noise and activity of the main school year. The mountainside is hushed by the exodus of most students from campus, and it's a rare spectacle even to see two or more of them together in one place. But students are still here, and summer classes are in session. Despite the season, all across campus lectures are being taught, discussions are being engaged in, and homework is being assigned. And like the atmosphere around campus, summer session can be very different than the school year proper. Some teachers give their students a chance to relax a little during the summer session. "During the summer, I take a bit more casual approach in order to give students enough time to complete the readings and write the research paper," says history professor Amy Rosenthal. She is currently teaching an upper-division seminar on social deviancy in Victorian England, and finds that the summer session offers both challenges and opportunities in the class. "One of the biggest challenges to teaching a course like this in the summer is the short time frame. I have to choose...

The 285 graduates of Pacific Union College's Class of 2009 marched the final leg of their undergraduate career on Sunday, June 14, in Commencement Grove. The president and academic dean gave 294 degrees (with 84 academic distinctions or honors), as well as granting two honorary doctorates and honoring aviation program director William Price and business department chair Richard Voth as Professors Emeriti. Various programs, dedications, and meet-and-greets take place during the entirety of Graduation Weekend, but the focal point of the affair is Sunday morning in the wooded area known as Commencement Grove, at the top of the hill. Family members arrived not long after a chilly dawn to save the best seats. As graduates began to gather near McReynolds Hall to line up, the most common activities were the adjusting of hats and the snapping of photos, while questions included "Where do the faculty line up?" "Do you sell hot chocolate?" "Where are the leis being sold?" and "Honey, where's your camera?" Although graduation is a time of some pomp and seriousness, students always make it a personally meaningful event. "Not For Sale" lettered on one cap celebrated the cause that students raised $10,000 for two years ago. Pink...

The 4th annual Student Film Festival showcased the work of Pacific Union College student filmmakers to the community, with two screenings at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena on June 4. Enthusiastic audiences viewed seven films, one trailer for a feature film, and the college's video yearbook. The festival featured the work of students Charles Johnson, Marcus Aurelius Klonek, Timothy Wolfer, Peter Han, Nicholas Lampke, and Raphael Jimenez and alums Zach Dunn and Geoff Kegley, with offerings ranging from Public Service Announcement (PSA) to "mockumentary." Han's PSA "Why Would You?" and Wolfer's documentary "Grow Up," which screened at the festival, have both won film awards this year. After the screenings, the filmmakers participated in a Q and A session moderated by Rodney Vance, director of the film & television production program at PUC. The students answered questions about challenges, why they chose their topics, and what will come next. For Raphael Jimenez, creating his comedy film for the first tri-club banquet with the Asian Student Association, Korean Adventist Student Association, and Student Organization of Latinos was a compelling introduction to filmmaking. "I really loved making that film - it was my first one," he said. "I really liked the process."...

Five high school students have been selected to receive $10,000 in renewable scholarship money from Pacific Union College as the 2009 Malcolm and Eileen Maxwell Scholars. The program honors high school seniors who have demonstrated high academic achievement, a commitment to Christian service, and outstanding leadership skills. The scholars, selected from nearly 50 applicants, came from all over the United States. Samantha Angeles, from Loma Linda Academy in California, is an aspiring attorney who won the title of Best Defense Attorney in the Mock Trial competitions in San Bernardino. Kaitlyn Min, from Madison Academy in Tennessee, started a service club at her academy called [REVO]lution. Matthew Phelps, from Lodi Adventist Academy in California, is an all-around star student, winning numerous city and school awards for academics, sports, and music. Colleen Uechi from Hawaii Mission Academy, holds the distinction of winning first place in a state scriptwriting contest. Dana Yoon, from Portland Adventist Academy in Oregon, was a standout in her commitment to service to school, community, and church. Each scholar maintained top grades in school, scored high on standardized tests, and, overall, each student is extraordinarily well-rounded. A selection committee using a double blind process reviewed all the applications. Students...

Following the usual mystery and secrecy, the 2009-2010 Educator of the Year for Pacific Union College was announced in an all-school colloquy on May 28. By way of clues, business professor and chair of the Faculty Development, Research, and Honors Committee Keith Neergaard said the awardee tends to wear white, has lived in two different hemispheres, plays guitar, is a first-generation Seventh-day Adventist, and is just finishing his third year teaching at PUC. He then announced the name: biology professor Brian Wong. A slideshow compiled by Wong's family told some of the story of his past, from being born the youngest of six (and the only boy) to a family in Hong Kong to his decision to follow Christ at age 12 to marrying his high school sweetheart, teaching in Trinidad and Nebraska, and his enjoyment of fishing, ping pong, and Chinese food. "His ultimate goal is to share God with his students," the family recounted. "He believes teaching gives him the platform to spread God's word." Two of Wong's students and two of his colleagues shared tributes to Wong. Rachel Devadhason, a senior biochemistry major, summed up the most commonly noted attribute: "Dr. Wong is pure energy." She added...

A few months ago, senior social work major and president of the Social Work Forum Alisa Jacobo discussed the possibility of starting a weekly food pantry with fellow social work majors and faculty. "I realized we needed to develop some type of sustainable program so that social work majors can learn and serve," she says. "A food pantry was the most practical solution." Professor Monte Butler, the eventual faculty sponsor of the pantry, helped kick-start the project. The consolidation of the food pantry occurred simultaneously with a food study also conducted by the social work department. The study purposed to discover whether the Angwin community suffered from lack of food. Surveys were administered door-to-door and available in the market, gas station, and laundromat. Almost 600 responses were collected. The conclusion: Yes. Many local families go to bed hungry each week. For Alisa, the study confirmed what she had already suspected and further pushed efforts for the food pantry. The pantry now assembles every Thursday evening in the PUC church complex from 6 to 9 p.m. Around 25 families attend each week and are able to pick up various food items depending on their need. Bi-lingual volunteers are readily available to...

Eighteen faculty received recognition in April for outstanding scholarship at the annual faculty awards program. Recipients were honored for notable work in their academic fields in the 2008-2009 year, including a wide range of works from presentations on biological diversity, architecture in art, and science and sexual orientation to "VoIP Quality and Security Issues for Consumers and Small Businesses." Three faculty members were awarded Herber Awards for their work. This award and accompanying grant was established in 2006 to facilitate teachers in their quest to achieve and sustain innovative, quality instruction. Vola Andrianarijaona, assistant professor of computer science, mathematics, and physics, received a Herber Grant to travel to Oakridge National Laboratory to do research and to attend the International Conference on Photonic, Electronic, and Atomic Collisions. Heather Reid, assistant professor of English, received a grant to spend two weeks at the Huntington Library to research and write an article about the only surviving Middle English translation of the "Story of Asneth." And resident artist Mei Ann Teo will use her grant to attend the La Mama International Symposium for Directors in Umbria, Italy....

The 2009 health fair at PUC, titled "For the Health of It," sported outdoor and indoor booths and a hubbub of students and community members enjoying displays from 35 health-related programs and organizations. PUC's Health Services department is making this type of hands-on, community integrated health fair a college tradition, and it's very successful with visitors and vendors alike. St. Helena Hospital offered a "Test Your Food IQ" game including questions (and displays) like "What is a serving size?" and "Can you guess which drink has the most caffeine?" St. Helena chiropractor Michael Cleaver showed a model of a spine to a student and talking about a fall the student had taken on his back. Two representatives from Napa Valley Aromatherapy were back again this year, enjoying the lunches PUC provided for the representatives and talking about how great it was to be here. One offered a taste of a sweet, light drink made with water infused with oranges, strawberries, and mint from her garden. "We're trying to tell the kids they shouldn't be drinking all this chemical stuff," she said. "It's important to give them the basics." She added, "It's fun to watch the kids' reactions!" Massage therapist Carrie...

The solidification of REVO as an official campus club this year sets the movement as more than a fad at Pacific Union College. It is the student body's lasting commitment to social justice. REVO PUC 2009 proves that last year's movement and event (and $10,000 raised for trafficked children in Peru) was by no means an anomaly. REVO is a student-led movement now nationwide, to host events that raise awareness and funds for various humanitarian causes. The concept of REVO plays off the word "revolution" and is as much a mindset as it is a cause. According to the movement's website (www.startarevo.org), REVO is "based on the concept of LOVE. To live the REVO everyday is to think beyond ourselves and redefine our modern conception of necessity. It is taking a homeless man out to dinner. It is seeing beauty in the disfigured, seeing wholeness in the lame, seeing a dance in the invalid." Student leader Grace Jung and alum Rachel Thompson are responsible for planting the REVO movement at PUC and nurturing its foundation. "Post-REVO PUC 2008, many people expressed their anticipation of the 'next' REVO and that they couldn't wait to make REVO happen again," says Jung. "So,...