2024

In only a week, faculty and students from Pacific Union College and health professionals served over 3,000 patients in India. Professor of Biology Dr. Backil Sung planned this mission trip to Falakata, India. From July 10-21, the goals were to treat patients with health issues, introduce Jesus’ love, and for students and volunteers to learn how to practice God’s command to love others. All to Heaven is Dr. Sung's charity organization that helps with these yearly mission trips, and his organization raised around $80,000 . Out of the donated funds, $35,000 supplied medications and materials and assisted with local transportation and meals for the mission trip.  $37,000 was donated to construct the theology school's boys' dormitory, scholarships, the great controversy book to students, and donation of a dental chair at the clinic. The remaining $7,000 was reserved for next year's mission trip.“I was very impressed with Dr. Sung’s ability to organize and lead this international mission trip,” said Professor of Biology Floyd Hayes. “His mission trips provide a tremendous opportunity for our students to participate in health care, and I hope that many will join him each summer.”Joining Dr. Sung and Hayes were seven biology students from PUC, eight medical...

Pacific Union College Professors Drs. Scott Butterfield and Floyd Hayes from the biology department were awarded two grants totaling over $300k from the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake and the National Audubon Society's Audubon in Action program to develop a monitoring program for grebes, a bioindicator of ecosystem health, at Clear Lake. With this project, they will collaborate with partners from the Redbud Audubon Society, Upper Lake High School, Lower Lake High School, Robinson Rancheria Environmental Center, Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians, and Lake County. Grebes are aquatic diving birds that serve as bioindicators of the lakes' overall ecosystem health, allowing biologists to monitor complex systems more cost-effectively and sustainably. If the lake is healthy, the number of grebes increases while decreasing if it is unhealthy. In 2022, Hayes published a review of grebe monitoring in Clear Lake that showed the rise and fall of grebe numbers over the past 70 years.Hayes's review inspired him and Butterfield to consider how grebe monitoring could be improved with new technologies, such as those being developed and tested in PUC's conservation technology and data science programs, including drones, remote sensing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. In the new...

On June 2, Pacific Union College and the Angwin Airport chapter of the Disaster Airlift Response Team (DART) hosted the Air Expo at the Angwin Airport. The Air Expo promoted PUC’s aviation program, called attention to the DART services and emergency fire and rescue services available, and brought people together to share the fun of aviation.Admission was free, allowing attendees to view planes, helicopters, and fire trucks and climb on a rock wall made by PUC. Breakfast and lunch were available for $5 each (with other treats available for purchase), and plane rides with instructors from PUC’s aviation program were $10. PUC aviation students helped marshall planes, cook breakfast, and drive visitors from the parking lot to the airport. Personnel from Mike’s Aero maintenance department were also involved with cooking, flying, and keeping the event safe.It is believed that the first major fly-in was on June 16, 1963, with over 30 aircraft joined by hundreds of people from the community and valley. This event honored Mrs. Anna Stahl and her late husband by dedicating the first missionary aircraft, a brand new Helo Courier, to be flown worldwide by the Adventist church. This event was the first Air Expo at the...

Pacific Union College held its annual PacificQuest summer programs for students in grades 6-12 interested in STEM—and for the first time—aviation. This week-long camp is a great opportunity for students to receive college credit through practical learning experiences and share their interests with other academy kids through educational and outdoor activities.Since 1995, PQRise and PQSeek have been ongoing and were only canceled once in the summer of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal has remained the same each year—that students learn about their interests in engineering, zoology, marine science, and art from expert professors who are dedicated teachers and Seventh-day Adventists.“We hope that students connect with their peers, making memories and friends to last a lifetime,” shared Dean of the School of Sciences Aimee Wyrick. “We also want them to get to know PUC and our amazing faculty and staff. The PacificQuest programs can demystify college, and this helps students realize that college is for them and isn’t (or doesn’t have to be) scary. I overheard a student say it was the best summer experience of their life.”This year’s PacificQuest was exceptional as it was the first introduction to PQSoar for students interested in aviation. From June 23-28,...

Dennis L. Plubell is a lifelong Adventist born and raised in California and Hawaii. Like other family members, Plubell attended Pacific Union College—his “home” school for higher education. He graduated from Pacific Union College in 1976 with a B.A. in Biology and received his M.A. in Biology in 1982. While his family was living in San Jose, CA, Plubell worked most summers during his college years for his grandfather and uncles in the apple and pear orchards around Camino, CA. In 1973, he spent time on the Miller Place, a ranch acquired by the family, where Plubell discovered the Grainger Hall plaque in the grime and dust of the barn equipment. The Grainger Hall plaque is an old bronze college artifact. According to Plubell, it identified the men’s residence hall and was mounted on the building or stone pillars. Plubell was only met with conjecture when trying to find how the plaque ended at the barn. He and others had their theories but didn’t trouble themselves with exploring how the plaque made its way from campus to Camino, CA. Instead, he returned it to its home on campus—50 years later. The plaque was displayed on Plubell’s desk in the dorm....

From 2001-2006, Nathan Tasker was the flight center director for the aviation program at Pacific Union College. After 18 years of being away, he returns to his old job. A mission pilot friend of Tasker alerted him of the desperate need for Christ-centered pilots in the field. This factored into his decision to accept this position at PUC. Tasker saw new opportunities within the Adventist church to revisit some aviation policies, which would improve the ability to serve in many countries. Although the domestic aviation industry has challenges, he believes in trying new things to revolutionize technical and spiritual approaches to excellence. “I can only say that God placed it on my heart to return to PUC to try to make a difference,” said Tasker. “It’s not a logical career progression—but I am sure God is leading us.”Tasker grew up as a missionary kid in the Solomon Islands and witnessed firsthand how a professional humanitarian airplane service on a schedule could transform an entire country. Before the plane arrived at their island, it took days in boats and canoes to get there. It was difficult to get supplies and medical care. They had no telephone or radio and only occasionally...

At 11 am on June 20, Abraham Garrido, PUC enrollment counselor and alum, summited Mt Whitney—the highest mountain in the contiguous United States, with an elevation of 14,505 feet. Along with his friends and recent PUC alums Bianca Le’Giu, Tyler Williams, and his brother Pablo Garrido, it took them exactly five and a half hours to make it to the top.By running 50-60 miles (or 8-12 hours) a week and completing multiple ultra-marathon races, this consistent training mentally and physically prepared him for these summits. While this was his first time running up to 14k feet, he’s reached 11k feet in some of his races, this trek was still much harder than his other races.The inspiration behind this escapade and the reason he started running was from his little brother Pablo. “Seeing him go on incredible adventures in the mountains inspired me to run,” shared Garrido. He also mentioned that the running community being supportive and his excitement to explore attracted him to the sport.“The most memorable part of this adventure was completing it with my brother,” said Garrido. “Being inspired by him for years and finally completing an adventure we had talked about for years was truly memorable.”Before summiting...

Pacific Union College, in collaboration with Loma Linda University School of Public Health (LLU SPH), hosted its inaugural Global Health Symposium in May, diving into the complexities of global health issues through dynamic discussions, interactive breakout and poster sessions, and an insightful keynote speech. Approximately 85 people registered for the one-day, campus event, spanning a diverse group of professionals, including doctors, nurses, community members, and students.According to Global Health Director Nancy Jacobo, the symposium was inspired by several needs: to raise awareness around global health and careers in the field, highlight PUC’s 4+1 Global Health Program, and ultimately, attract a new generation of global health students and future practitioners.“We hope that attendees came away with a sense of the importance of being aware of health outcomes and health disparities that exist in our communities and abroad,” Jacobo said.During the symposium, participants had the opportunity to engage with seven booths focused on specific health topics, including the NCC initiative on homelessness, Blue Zones, Advent Health’s mobile clinic, and more. Dr. Gilbert Burnham, a Johns Hopkins University emeritus professor of International Health with extensive medical experience working abroad, gave the keynote speech titled “Global Change: Looking at Now and Tomorrow through a...

For the last two years, Vice President for Student and Spiritual Life Dr. Ryan Smith made tremendous changes to Pacific Union College. Smith stepped into the role at a critical time as the college was moving forward with its new vision and future plans following the COVID-19 pandemic. He realigned departments, worked to change the Teaching Learning Center into the Student Success Center, supported dorm remodeling projects, improved the athletics program, and served as the role of chaplain for a year while the campus worked to fill the position. His dedication to students and the connections he made will be missed. “Ryan has a unique blend of wisdom, experience, compassion, and presence,” shared PUC President Dr. Ralph Trecartin. “I have often felt that he was the perfect team member one would want to work with. We agreed on most things after discussing various viewpoints, and we could disagree with smiles and laughter, parting as respected colleagues when this happened. Ryan helped PUC and me tremendously over the past two years. While I fervently wish he would continue on our team, I understand that someone like him has endless new opportunities."Smith’s career spans from student life and academia in the Seventh-day...

Pacific Union College students from various departments showcased Shrek the Musical in the halfway-renovated Paulin Recital Hall on May 24, 26, and 27. The stage adaptation of the DreamWorks Pictures movie Shrek, the musical follows the plot with 20 songs written for the show that include ballads, classic Broadway songs, and funky dance numbers. From building sets and designing costumes to directing and producing, PUC students ran the entire show. The character of Shrek was performed by music major Milton Perez, with his sidekick Donkey played by theology major Jacob Duran. Madeline Eastman, a biology major, had the lead role of Princess Fiona, nursing major Gabe Llanell-Vararaj played Lord Farquaad, and Dragon was performed by psychology and music major Kyra Grant. Perez brought the idea to perform this musical to co-director and co-producer Leila Beltran (who played one of the three blind mice). With other musicals in mind and unsure of what to showcase, PUC SA President Kaitlyn Nakanishi, co-director/producer and choreographer, encouraged Beltran to say “yes” to Shrek the Musical—and she’s glad she did!  Being a part of the production team, Beltran coached the cast on their lines and movements, helped with music direction, and organized rehearsals, which was...