2011

Two Pioneers basketball players won California Pacific Conference honors last week when they were named players of the week. The conference recognized senior Josh Jewett from the men’s team, and senior Carla Bartlett from the women’s team, for outstanding play last week against West Coast Baptist College and the California Institute of Technology.Read more at the Napa Valley Register....

Peter Thornburgh, recently creative director at Yahoo!, was the speaker for Pacific Union College’s Colloquy Speaker Series on December 1. Following his presentation, students filled the Dining Commons for the 31st annual Career Day exhibition, where over 60 consultants, recruiters, and professionals shared their experiences in the work field. Thornburgh began his presentation by highlighting a U.S. Department of Education statistic showing that over 65 percent of today’s middle school students will land jobs that do not yet exist, emphasizing the effect technology will have on future careers. Thornburgh gave students three keys to success in the technology driven economy. First, Thornburgh urged, “Don't be average, be invested.” Recalling Psalm 139:14, where David praises God for making him with such care, he said, “God doesn’t make good, he makes great.” Second, he said, “Let God guide.” Finally, he encouraged students to take advantage of any support available, stating, “Don’t go it alone…work with your colleagues.” After sharing his keys to success, Thornburgh referred to late Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford University. In the speech, Jobs urged students to look for something they love. Thornburgh repeated that advice but with a caveat: “Finding a job you love...

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Martin Doblmeier, creator of over 25 films including The Power of Forgiveness, Bonhoeffer, and The Adventists, visited Pacific Union College last week to address students, present one of his films, and give the college’s annual Longo Lecture. Doblmeier’s engagement at PUC opened Wednesday evening with a screening of The Adventists, his documentary exploring the denomination’s unique whole-person approach to healthcare. After the screening in Scales Chapel, the filmmaker spent several minutes answering questions about the film, which premiered on public television in 2010. On Thursday morning Doblmeier faced a panel of student interviewers for PUC’s Colloquy Speaker Series in the PUC Church. Following a moving clip of his film The Power of Forgiveness, students Samantha Angeles, Peter Han, and Justin Feltman took the stage with the filmmaker to ask him about his views on Adventism, justice, filmmaking, and the controversial German resistance figure Dietrich Bonhoeffer. “The common denominator in my films is exploring the question, ‘How is God working in the world today?’” Doblmeier said, responding to a question from Feltman on how he chooses his topics. Doblmeier also discussed the complexities of showing The Adventists, a film that to a degree promotes facets of Adventist faith...

College administrators, PUC alumni, faculty, and staff celebrated the dedication of the newly renovated Nelson Memorial Library at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, November 12. Several of the project’s major donors attended, and President Heather Knight, interim advancement vice president Carolyn Hamilton, and library director Adu Worku took the opportunity to thank them for their contributions. After a dedication prayer by outreach chaplain Norman Knight, the president, along with Worku and donors Jim and Bonnie Comazzi, Hans and Nancy Boksberger, and Herb Ford cut the ribbon, welcoming in the crowd of eager attendees. In front of the new and brightly-lit group study rooms provided by Adventist Health, Knight again addressed donors, thanking them for making the renovation possible. Academic dean Nancy Lecourt, the point person for the planning stage of the renovation, also spoke about the project, and Worku outlined the philosophy of the modern library that had developed over the 10-plus years since the plan was first conceived. Over the course of the renovation, construction crews completely stripped the main floor of the library, removing over 50,000 books to a remote storage facility on campus. The expanded space on the floor is now brightly decorated and well lit and features...

Last week the CalPac conference recognized two Pioneers volleyball players for their performance in the recently closed season. Senior Casey Miller was named to the 1st Team All-Conference group, and junior transfer student Calai Brown was named one of the conference’s two Newcomers of the Year. Head coach Brittany Brown had glowing praise for the two players. “[Casey] is one of those players that really gives 100 percent every day and helps set the tone for PUC volleyball for years to come,” she says. “[Calai] has come into this program with a strong understanding of collegiate volleyball and really excelled this season.” Miller finished the season leading the Pioneers in kills, with 205 (3.1 kills per set). She was second on the team with 23 service aces on the season, and she also finished second on the team with 191 digs and third with 18 total blocks on the year. Brown finished the season third on the team in kills, with 123 (1.68 per set) and second on the team with 27 total blocks on the year. “I’m glad that it was my senior year,” says Miller. “It’s a nice way to finish. I consider it an honor.” “It feels...

On Sunday, Oct. 30, a group of Pacific Union College students spent the day restoring the wildlife habitat surrounding Lake Berryessa. The recreational site, which is just a half hour drive from the PUC campus, had been damaged by human impact and the students’ hope was to rebuild it by planting native species that once flourished in the habitat but have been unable to survive in the current conditions. There were 18 students involved with the project, which was led by Aimee Wyrick, assistant professor of biology. Students in Wyrick’s conservation biology class made up the majority of the group, although the event was also open to biology majors and anyone else who was interested. Three park rangers from the Bureau of Reclamation also helped with the project. “As a biology major who has taken ecology and conservation classes, I've always studied cases of habitat degradation and how we need to conserve what we have left,” says senior Brian Lee. “The habitat restoration that we performed really drove home the fact that these ecosystems are incredibly fragile and that these problems may be witnessed in our own backyard.” Students planted blue oak acorns, native trees that take about a decade...

According to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tracy Kidder, goodness isn’t a virtue that people naturally embrace, particularly when you’re considering the goodness of another human. “We all tend to push away evidence of virtuousness that exceeds our own,” said Kidder at a lecture at Pacific Union College. Kidder was in Angwin on October 27, 2011, as part of PUC’s Colloquy Speaker Series and to discuss his book, “Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.” The book is this year’s selection for PUC Reads, a campus-wide book club. Kidder shared with the audience, comprised mostly of college students, his own encounter with a character of true benevolence, what it unveiled, and how it impacted his own world perspective. His presentation recounted the story of Farmer, a Harvard-educated physician and anthropologist who has committed his life to diagnosing and curing infectious diseases in impoverished communities. Kidder first met him by accident in 1994 while researching American soldiers in Haiti. But it was specifically the virtue of Farmer—his insistent idealism and courage—that kept Kidder from actually pursuing his story for another six years. Kidder surmised that a character “so gifted, so self-sacrificing, so passionate for...

In spring 2011, the Pacific Union College Church pastoral staff decided that it was time to do something about the stained glass window in the roof of Scales Chapel. The original stained glass was installed in the 1970s, in what was then called the Youth Chapel. Years later, the joints had begun to weaken and leak. The situation became so bad that a board had to be placed under the window to protect people from falling glass. John Hughson, PUC Church administrative pastor, contacted Robert Pappas, ’76, to take a look at the ceiling. Pappas taught in the art department at PUC from 1977-1981 and has been an art glass professional for 30 years. He also did repair work on the stained glass windows in the church three years ago. After looking at the glass, Pappas knew it needed to be replaced. “I thought that an art student could donate their time and then have a significant commission to have in their portfolio,” Pappas says. He recommended Cabel Bumanglag, who graduated with a fine arts degree from PUC in 2010 and had studied stained glass. Bumanglag agreed to volunteer his time. To launch the renovation, Bumanglag and Pappas set to...

For the third year in a row, Pacific Union College is seeing an increase in enrollment figures as the new school year begins. The 2011 fall quarter enrolled 1,511 students on campus. When including the off-campus nursing and Degree Completion Programs, overall enrollment a PUC is at 1,567 students. Compared to last year, there has been a 5.2 percent growth for on-campus students and a 2.6 percent increase in total enrollment for the college. “Pacific Union College is absolutely thrilled with the number of students who have made PUC their college of choice,” says President Heather Knight. “In terms of the campus’s enrollment goals, we have actually jumped ahead a year in achieving these numbers,” says President Heather Knight. Campus spirit has also come alive with the arrival of new students. There was standing room only at PUC’s Opening Convocation in October as students filled the PUC Church. The enthusiasm in the air was noticeable as guest speaker Jose Hernandez, NASA astronaut, captivated the audience. Attendance for Friday evening vespers and the Colloquy Speaker Series, a campus-wide gathering that features high-profile speakers, has also been high, with the church filled to capacity for most programs so far this year. As...

“Because of your love for Jesus, I now baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” On October 14, four students heard these words before being immersed in water in front of hundreds of their peers at the “As I Am” vespers, the culmination of PUC’s October 12-14 Fall Revival. The week of spiritual revival, which was themed “Grounded in Christ,” is a quarterly event, but this time, there was an unmistakable sense of God’s presence on campus. “It’s something strong and deep,” said Andrew Lloren, a junior. “By just being here, you know that God is doing something big.” Laffit Cortes, PUC’s new campus chaplain and the series speaker, made five compelling challenges to students to honestly evaluate their faith and make a decision about where they stand spiritually. “I saw that there’s definitely a struggle – the Great Controversy is being played out here,” said Cortes. “But there’s definitely a hunger and thirst for God.” This spiritual desire was evident in the ever-increasing number of students that attended the revival programs throughout the week. The first program, held on Wednesday night, was a challenge to students to reach out their...