2009

For the third year, the annual Pacific Union College Student Film Fest will be held at the historic Cameo Cinema in St. Helena. Giving PUC student filmmakers a chance to show their up-and-coming work in the community, the festival will feature multiple short films in a variety of genres, from documentary and "mockumentary" to drama and even some trailers for next year's films. The festival is hosted by the film and television program of PUC's visual arts departments, which has recently seen its students recognized with film awards from National Geographic Channel and SONScreen, with another student completing a prestigious internship with DreamWorks Animation. The festival will showcase addition PUC film talent on Thursday, June 4, with showings at 5:30 and 8:15 p.m. Tickets are available at the door, $3 for students and $5 for adults. The Cameo Cinema is located at 1340 Main Street in St. Helena. For more information, call 707-965-6308....

The Dramatic Arts Society at Pacific Union College presents their 2009 one-act festival, titled "All That Glitters Is Not Gold: A One-Act Festival on the surprises in life." The One-Act Festival started last year with "Love: is a Four-letter Word." The show featured seven one-acts performed for six nights, and explored the different facets of love. The 2009 show features eight one-act plays performed by 17 actors under four different directors. The One-Act Festival plays on May 23 (Saturday), 24 (Sunday), 27 (Wednesday), 28 (Thursday), 30 (Saturday) and 31 (Sunday). All shows are at 7 p.m. and are held in the Alice Holst Theater in Stauffer Hall on the PUC campus in Angwin. Admission cost is $5 for students and $7 for everyone else, and tickets are available at the door 15 minutes before each show....

Craig Church is a senior film and television production and English major at Pacific Union College. He was recently selected from a massive applicant pool to intern at DreamWorks, one of the leading animation studios in Hollywood. The 13-week internship ended early in May. Craig's internship at DreamWorks is a landmark achievement for the PUC Visual Arts department. His involvement with a feature-film ("How to Train Your Dragon" is scheduled to debut in 2010) is unprecedented. Craig worked primarily in the story department, where he assisted the story production supervisor in processing and preparing storyboard panels for editorial. He was also involved with the character effects and modeling department and the surfacing department while also assisting the script coordinator in prepping scripts and sides for scratch and professional voice recording sessions. Historically, Craig was the first intern to be invited to one of the professional voice recording sessions at the famous LA Studios, where he saw Hollywood stars such as John C. McGinley (Scrubs) and the new Star Trek cast. During his internship, Craig also met Jeffrey Katzenberg, co-founder and CEO of DreamWorks Animation. "Getting to talk with directors like Katzenberg about everything from what he looks for in pitches...

When I walked into Norm and Carolyn Low's St. Helena house late on Sabbath afternoon, they were looking a little stunned. I knew it had been a Home Lunch day - when church members invite college students home for a family-style meal - and the Lows often serve up to 30 students at their house. The day had been idyllic, so students could eat out on the deck; but I could see that something else must've happened. "You won't believe it," said Norm. "Oh, my, goodness!" exclaimed Carolyn. Norm finally explained: "We had 70 kids." The Lows live in Modesto but make St. Helena their weekend home, and they are regular attendees of the Pacific Union College Church. Through Jessica Shine, then pastor of worship and outreach, the Lows got connected with a program called "Home Lunches" and joined on as hosts - though it was a stretch of faith (and personality) to do so. Before too long, they were helping Shine lead the program; and when Shine took a call to pastor in another church, they were left at the helm. Home Lunches began about three years ago when the PUC Church staff was talking about how to get...

Teachers understand that the modern world has drastically rearranged students' reception and absorption of knowledge. Pacific Union College professors Shana Ruggenberg and Aimee Wyrick address the new mentality by implementing multi-media devices such as the podcast into class curriculum. Ruggenberg's Introduction to Nursing and Wyrick's Introduction to Biology classes each require students to narrate a podcast presentation. Both feel the podcast engages students better than more mundane, lecture-type projects. "Having the students create podcasts taps into experiential learning - much of the literature on learning tells us that students learn much in the process of creating a product," says Ruggenberg. "In my class, this gives the students an opportunity to explore a topic, to present what they've learned in a succinct manner, using a narrative designed to capture interest, and also to learn a bit about maximizing both the audio and visual channels of the brain for learning." Ruggenberg and Wyrick understand that the application of multi-media devices seems to leave an indelible impression on students. They feel students "own" the material to a much greater extent, as the podcast requires each student to synthesize information not covered in class in a visually appealing fashion. "The digital podcast makes a...

Spreading bark in the park and learning about nature deficiency were highlights of Pacific Union College's second annual Green Week, celebrated on and following Earth Day in April. The week was also the keystone event of a year-long emphasis on the campus to "get out into nature, get your hands dirty," as vice president for student services Lisa Bissell Paulson explains. Ten new trees was one success of the week, and a product of the Friday afternoon service project in the town of St. Helena. About 50 students, faculty and staff headed down to Crane Park, where they placed new bark around all of the playground equipment, washed all of the equipment, and planted the trees. Doug Wilson, student activities director and coordinator of the event, was thrilled with how the project turned out. " It was a great turnout and great event," he said. "The St. Helena people were amazed and excited by our help." The college also brought Cheryl Charles, president of the Children & Nature Network, to present twice for Green Week. At an evening lecture on April 22, Charles presented "The Ecology of Hope: Building a Movement to Reconnect Children and Nature." She spoke on why...

Pacific Union College freshman Peter Han won first place for public service announcement (PSA) in the second annual "Preserve Our Planet" National Geographic college film and PSA contest. His film, "Why Would You," earned him $3,000 in prize money and a trip to Washington, D.C., in June for the annual global gathering of National Geographic Explorers. The contest received nearly 100 entries, narrowed down to the top 20 by the contest committee and then voted on by a panel of judges that included top National Geographic Explorers and representatives from NGC, National Geographic Society, ecoAmerica and Green Careers. Han's win was a result of chance, confidence and good film-making. Just as many students do, Han was passing through the halls of Fisher Hall, home of PUC's visual arts department, and noticed an advertisement for the contest, which many had passed and few had noticed. However, Han took initiative and took a part in the contest. So when everyone else was enjoying the festivities of the Christmas season, this film & television and biology major was out with his camera, letting his creativity roll. He made the December 31st deadline and completely forgot about the contest until early April, when he...

Pacific Union College hosted its annual Spring Week of Prayer on April 6 to 11, which featured the usual powerful preachers, beautiful praise music and fascinating skits. However, what made this week of prayer stand out and appeal to its audience was the fact that the speakers weren't well-established professional preachers, but students just like the audience. Every day new students came up and didn't just preach about the topic of "Refiners Fire: Barriers That Keep You From God," but also opened their hearts and showed us how it affected them; and through this, the audience could also see how it affected them, says senior Lisa Iskander. The students preached in both the morning and evening programs on such topics as denying self and not doubting God. Many of PUC's staff and students were rejuvenated by this simple week-long service. And above all, this week of prayer has made all PUC staff and students stop for a few moments in their busy lives and focus on community. Senior Andrew Riffel says that he really feels the PUC family every time he steps into the chapel. "I really like student week of prayer because it strengthens our community and makes us...

On April 9 and 10, 2009, the Pacific Union College Board of Trustees met in executive session to discuss the results of a commissioned Study Committee report. The report, written by a special committee of faculty and staff, had recommendations on how to strengthen specific programs and departments, better preparing PUC for continued success in the future. The study committee was formed in November 2008 at the request of PUC president Richard Osborn with the board's unanimous support; the group spent four months interviewing employees and reviewing programs. After careful consideration, the board of trustees and Dr. Osborn agreed that new leadership would best serve the college as it looks to addressing some of the recommendations, which lists both challenges and opportunities for PUC. On April 9, Dr. Osborn tendered his resignation as PUC president, effective June 30, 2009; the board accepted the resignation. "On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Pacific Union College, I would like to commend Dr. Richard Osborn for the selfless ministry of leadership he has provided for PUC during the last eight years," said board chair Ricardo Graham. "The benefits of his leadership will be felt for years to come. We ask the entire...

Cheryl Charles, leader in education, environment, and communication, will present on "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" on April 22 at 7 p.m. at Pacific Union College. The lecture is part of the college's celebration of its second annual Green Week, April 22-25. Green Week is one way the college community hopes to increase commitment to good stewardship of the environment and to inform students and community members about local and global ecological issues. In addition to Charles' lecture, the campus will enjoy other Green Week throughout the week. Charles' lecture will be the keystone presentation of the week. A leading figure on environmentalism, Charles is president of the Children and Nature Network and co-chair of the Education for Sustainable Development Working Group of the Commission on Education and Communication, World Conservation Union (IUCN-CEC). She will share her thoughts on why the health of children and the health of the earth are inseparable matters and what we can do to secure the future of both. Charles will speak at Dauphinee Chapel. To learn more about the lecture or other Green Week activities, call 707-965-7362....