2019

Last month, the department of music took several students on a field trip to Anaheim for the 2019 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) convention. Asher Raboy, professor of music, vocalist, and PUC’s resident artist, organized the trip for two reasons. First, he wanted his students to gain insights into the kinds of employment opportunities that exist for music majors.“There are a lot of jobs in music,” he says, “but the traditional jobs—classroom teaching and performance—are getting rarer. It’s important that our students experience the wealth of modern opportunities so they can make wise choices about their futures.”Secondly, Raboy wanted his students to be energized by meeting successful professionals who are creative, energetic, and entrepreneurial by nature.“At worst, our students can find a new and powerful purpose to their major,” he says. “At best, they start to network and make connections that last a lifetime.”Though the event lasted six days, to avoid missing too many classes PUC’s students attended only for the weekend. During this time, they were able to attend concerts, talk with music professionals, listen to presentations, meet performers, and explore a plethora of products related to the music industry. NAMM exhibitors and presenters filled the entire Anaheim...

Adventure photographer and PUC alumnus D.J. Struntz will speak for Career Day colloquy in the PUC Church sanctuary at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 7.Struntz grew up in Angwin, graduated from PUC Elementary and PUC Preparatory schools, and graduated from PUC in 1997 with a degree in biology. He worked as a research biologist after college and planned to spend his career in marine mammal research.However, his life took a surprisingly different turn and Struntz left his work as a research biologist to become a staff photographer for Surfing Magazine. In this new line of work, Struntz traveled the world and photographed every major surfer in the industry. His photos have been featured on CNN, FOX, NBC, ABC and CBS.He explains becoming a photographer happened accidentally. “I was going on a surf trip with friends and took a camera for giggles and shot a photo an East Coast regional surf magazine ended up running,” said Struntz. “Eventually I started sending slides after cold calling surf magazine photo editors. Six months later I had a job offer.”Struntz says his small-town upbringing set the tone for his current life. “[Angwin] was an incredible place to grow up and fostered my love for...

Earlier this year, the social work program at Pacific Union College was ranked the most affordable at a private school in California by humanservicesedu.org. In their 2019 101 Most Affordable BSW Programs in America rankings, humanservicesedu.org evaluated total program costs for both private and public institutions, selecting the schools with the lowest cost in each state. PUC comes in at more than $32,000 less than the state average for total program cost.On their website, humanservicesedu.org states, “As someone preparing for a career that involves saving lives, you’re not interested in saving dollars if it means compromising anything important in your education.” For this reason, they say, cost isn’t everything, “so you can be sure these programs are also top quality.”PUC is noted for being consistently ranked as a leading liberal arts college by U.S. News & World Report since 2009, providing exciting opportunities for undergraduate research, and offering an outstanding student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1.“Like its many other degree programs,” continues humanservicesedu.org’s website, “Pacific Union College’s BSW program is rooted in value. This program seamlessly blends classroom theory with research and practical experiences to produce a well-rounded course of study that’s designed to prepare you to work with a variety of...

Colloquy on Feb. 21 marked a special visit from orthopedic surgeon and medical missionary Scott Nelson. The father of a current student and a PUC alum himself, Nelson spent his time onstage encouraging students to step outside of their comfort zones and participate in Christian service, using anecdotes and experiences from his own life to explain why mission work is a crucial aspect of Adventism. Nelson shared some of the more poignant memories of his time on the island of Hispaniola, notably his involvement with relief work after the 2010 earthquake that threw the country of Haiti into chaotic devastation. Overwhelmed by the sheer number of injuries he witnessed in first few days after the disaster, Nelson decided to extend his time in the country from a few days to nearly six months. “We began operating throughout the day and night,” he noted. “During that time, I was not in control, I was far from the normal support of family, and I just had to depend on God. Living there for those six months taught me what was essential in life.” He went on to compare his story to that of Abram in Genesis. Nelson explained that, like the biblical...

Pacific Union College announces Dr. Ron Graybill as the speaker for the 2019 lecture of the Percy and John Christian Civil Rights Conference Center. Graybill has served his communities in a variety of ways over the years—professor, journalist, communications specialist, historian, editor, and pastor—and will draw from these varied experiences as he presents on his topic, “James Edson White: Flawed Hero.” The lecture will take place on Saturday, March 9, at 4 p.m. in PUC’s Paulin Hall. This event is free and open to the public.“I’ll be presenting on the paternalistic racism which characterized most social action by whites during the late 19th century,” Graybill explains. “To do this I will be examining closely the story of the life of James Edson White, with emphasis on his pioneer evangelistic, educational, and humanitarian work among Mississippi Blacks during this era.”Much of his lecture will be an elaboration of the premise of his book, Mission to Black America, originally published in 1971 with a second, updated edition released in February 2019. “James Edson White’s evangelism story has significant application to current issues,” Graybill says. “We are in an era when the long-standing racism of much of American society has come more obviously...

Over thirty years ago, PUC’s Education Days was founded as a convenient way of connecting graduating education majors with potential employers in both the Adventist and the public school systems. PUC’s third party administrator and field services coordinator, Debra Murphy, explained, “The goal of the dinner is to introduce our teaching candidates to future employers in a fairly intimate setting. We hope to foster conversations that ultimately lead to our students securing jobs after graduation.” To ensure a wide variety of employers are present, superintendents and principals from all across the Pacific Union Conference are invited to the event. In all, five states are represented at the Education Days dinner including California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. A job fair also took place the following day, allowing students who could not attend the dinner to speak to potential employers in a less formal setting as well. In addition to a variety of representatives from the Adventist education system, public school officials also seek out potential employees from PUC. Murphy noted, “School districts we have directed teaching contracts with include Napa, St. Helena, Calistoga, Santa Rosa, Pope Valley, Konocti, Lake County, Fairfield, and Vallejo, as well as principals from the local...

Thursday, Feb. 7, marked the PUC men’s and women’s basketball team senior night, a time when senior student athletes are recognized for their contributions to the college’s athletics program. Basketball is not the only sport to hold senior night celebrations, however; throughout the year, the men’s and women’s cross country, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball teams all host their own ceremonies to show their appreciation for their respective student athletes. “Senior Night was really nice,” says junior volleyball player Katie Williams. “We have four seniors this year, so all of us underclassmen made them posters and little gift bags for the night. Our coach also made sure to include a short story about each senior team member as a way of recognizing what she has done to make our team what it is. The way everyone was included and honored was a really special way of showing how much we’ll miss them after graduation.”Other teams feature different versions of celebrations. Cross country runner and senior Nephtali Marin noted, “Instead of having a traditional senior night like other teams, the men’s cross country team usually holds a banquet instead.” Organizing gifts and sharing a meal as a team are just a...

The faculty of the department of visual arts at Pacific Union College invites the community to the opening reception of their 2019 faculty art show in the Rasmussen Art Gallery on the PUC campus in Angwin. The reception begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16, and is free and open to the public. The art will be available for viewing through March 17. Faculty with art in this year’s show are: Amy Cronk (mixed media); Cheryl Daley (ceramics); Jayme de la Torre (sculptural assemblage); Brian Kyle (photography); Milbert Mariano (design); Bob Pappas (ceramics); Cliff Rusch (photography); Tom Turner (watercolors).“We are a department filled with diverse faculty, specializing in different disciplines, who make the student experience at PUC one of a kind,” says Rajeev Sigamoney, department chair and associate professor of film and television production. “Coming to the faculty show allows students to get to know our faculty better, as well as exposing both them and the community to what we’re all about here in the department of visual arts.”This 2019 event is the 25th annual faculty art show, highlighting the diverse talent and experience of those who shape the experiences of the next generation of artists.“Faculty in visual arts...

A previously undocumented letter penned by Ellen G. White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has been discovered in the archives at Pacific Union College. Last week, several scholars reviewed the letter and confirmed the incomplete document was indeed in Ellen White’s handwriting. “Judging from the scholarly stir that followed, I would say that is a significant historical find,” says Katharine Van Arsdale, PUC’s official archivist and the document’s discoverer.Four years ago, Van Arsdale found what appeared to be a letter from Ellen G. White in a small metal cabinet designed to store maps. She noted the letter, dated May 9, 1882--one month after PUC began officially holding classes--was incomplete and lacked a signature, although someone had written in pencil the author was Mrs. White.“I regularly took that letter with me into classes as one of several artifacts illustrating the history of PUC and the stores of its archives,” Van Arsdale says. “I would show it to the students as something ‘probably’ written by Ellen White.”Last week, Van Arsdale presented to a class of freshmen for James Wibberding, associate professor of applied theology and biblical studies. During the class, she asked Wibberding if he happened to know, from the course...

In late January 2019, several PUC classes assisted local agencies with a government-required Point In Time (PIT) count of the homeless in Clearlake, California. Students in Human Behavior in the Social Environment developed their basic client assessment skills; those in Program Evaluation conducted research on an existing community program; and students in Statistical Methods studied how statistics can provide insight into local communities and play a role in securing and directing resources. The Principles of Counseling class was invited to take part for hands-on experience.“Research shows when we take classroom skills and bring them into real world experiences, our students, college, and community all benefit,” says Christy Mantz, instructor of social work and service-learning coordinator. “Students are able to see a need first-hand, utilize critical thinking skills to solve community or agency problems, and then act using theories they’ve learned in the classroom to address the community issues.”According to Mantz, in 2018, Lake County reported 615 homeless persons to Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the federal entity which requires the PIT count. Of those 615, 591 were unsheltered due to a lack of emergency or temporary shelter in Lake County.As the students surveyed people experiencing homelessness, Mantz says they heard...