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With her medals displayed on the platform of the PUC Church, Mary Whipple described her journey to gold during the November 7 installment of the Colloquy Speakers Series. Whipple was the coxswain of the United States Women’s 8+ Rowing Team, leading the team to five world championships, a silver medal in the 2004 Athens Olympics, and gold medals in the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London games. Whipple’s presentation began with a video clip of her team’s victory at the 2012 London Olympics. The footage showed the intensity of the race, as well as the incredible precision and coordination exhibited by the American team as they crossed the finish line well ahead of the rest of the pack. Whipple’s presentation described the extraordinary teamwork and determination required on the journey to that finish line. As the team’s coxswain, Whipple serves as an in-boat coach and calls instructions to the rowers. Her job is primarily to unite her teammates, Whipple explained. “It’s my job to turn eight individuals into one person—one dream.” Whipple’s Olympic dream and involvement with rowing started out “innocently.” While a student at Sacramento Adventist Academy, the Orangevale, Calif., native joined a rowing team at a local aquatic center,...

The Pacific Union College iPhone and iPad app won the Best in Class award from the Society of Adventist Communicators at the Society’s convention in Salt Lake City, October 24-27. The app was recognized for usability, design, working links, and for being up to date. Nicholas Hubbard, PUC’s webmaster, developed the app as part of his work for the college’s office of public relations. “Mobile continues to be the main form of communication with prospective and current students. We see the trend and want to stay on top of it,” Hubbard explains. “Developing PUC Mobile in-house gives us a great deal of flexibility. From developing new features such as our upcoming Student Jobs feature, to updating our app for the newest OS update, or quickly fixing bugs that our users might have, we have the ability to quickly add or adjust our app for the best user experience.” Beyond showcasing college news, photos, and events, the app has numerous other features. These include maps of on-campus and off-campus locations, class lists, the Library catalog, a campus contact directory, and a real-time listing of what is being served at the Dining Commons. The app has been remarkably popular, with over 6,000...

Pacific Union College is proud to have been recognized by multiple organizations for providing exceptional return on investment in rankings that identify the colleges where degrees pay off the most. The recent rankings confirm that the college is fulfilling its mission of providing an excellent and affordable Christian undergraduate education that prepares students for a lifetime of service in the career of their choice. In July, Affordable Colleges Online (AC Online) ranked PUC 22nd out of over 767 California colleges and universities, including private institutions and state schools, analyzed for return on investment (ROI). The ranking demonstrates that students who graduate from PUC enjoy a greater earnings gap than students without a four-year degree; PUC’s placement in the top three percent shows that its alums earn more on average than graduates from most California colleges. AC Online’s ranking is based on net tuition prices and graduate’s average starting salary, and used criteria from national sources such as the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Further recognition came in September, when PayScale, a provider of compensation data, ranked PUC in the top 15 percent of colleges on its national 2013 College Education ROI Rankings;...

During the week of October 6, PUC welcomed Pastor Jose Rojas to campus as the speaker for Fall Revival, an annual week of spiritual emphasis. Pastor Rojas, a PUC alum and acclaimed speaker, inspired and electrified the student body for a solid week, leaving many individuals with the new resolution to devote more of their time to ministry and missions. Rojas delivered weeknight sermons before concluding with a special vespers on Friday night and two church services the following morning. The well-attended weeknight meetings followed the theme of “Believing God,” while the special vespers and church services were focused on the missionary aspect of one’s Christian journey. The special Friday night vespers was streamed live to 532 viewers around the globe. Rojas communicated how belief in God is one of the most important steps on one’s spiritual journey. He shared how this belief can be the catalyst to success in faith, school, health, and relationships. Using inspirational stories and emphatic examples, Pastor Rojas punched one point repeatedly: “First, you must believe!” Rojas also makes a habit of singing at the end of each of his sermons, concluding his message with a unique touch. Rojas emphasized the deep importance of missionary...

Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Martin Doblmeier, creator of over 25 films and owner of Journey Films, visited Pacific Union College on October 10 to address students at the Adventist Heritage installment of the Colloquy Speaker Series. Introduced by President Heather J. Knight as a “non-Adventist who is interested in how faith builds extraordinary beliefs and communities,” Doblmeier first visited PUC in 2012 to present his film The ADVENTISTS, a documentary that focuses on Adventists’ work in healthcare. Though he did not intend to pursue further projects about Adventists, his next film The ADVENTISTS 2, looks at Adventism’s international healthcare ministry. “The documentary explores the idea of how Adventism is a story of how people go to the far corners and take medical missions over the world,” Doblmeier told the students, staff, and faculty gathered in the PUC Church. After showing a short clip of the film, Doblmeier told students about his approach to religion, faith, and spirituality. He began by saying, “I find myself looking for God through the people of this world… this is my mission.” Doblmeier continued by describing how Christians can tend to force others into religion through “religious arrogance.” He explained that we should rather have our...