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Thirty Pacific Union College students will be dedicating their time and talents to God by serving as student missionaries during the 2013-2014 school year. From medical clinics in the Amazon to classrooms in South Korea, these students are answering the call to serve God by serving others. The thirty young men and women are an exciting increase from the eight students who served during the 2012-2013 year. The renewed commitment to service demonstrates an exciting revival of long-term mission service as they join the 1,300 student missionaries that have served from PUC during the college’s history. Robert Henry, a theology major from Riverside, Calif., started his service as a teacher at Indonesian Adventist University on August 1, 2013. “The main reason why I decided to become a student missionary is because I saw the need,” Henry shares. “Last fall Pastor Jose Rojas came to PUC for a midweek vespers speaking on the topic of missions. That night I made the commitment to serve for a year overseas; with God's leading and the assistance of the PUC missions office it has become a reality.” The office of service, justice, and missions is excited that Henry and his classmates have answered the...

The Pacific Union College church was full to capacity for the college’s Convocation ceremony as PUC alumna and para-athlete Erica Davis encouraged the student body to set high goals for themselves and have determination and faith. Davis, who became paralyzed from the waist down soon after graduation, is an accomplished para-athlete and the first paraplegic woman to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. She now works with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, encouraging other athletes with disabilities to reach for their full potential. “There is always a way to figure it out and do something,” Davis said, referring to her determination as she tries new sports from rock climbing to open water jet skiing. “That’s why I don’t like the word can’t.” After sharing her lifelong passion with sports with the gathered faculty, staff, and students, Davis told the audience about the only race she has ever quit: a cross country running race she participated in as a PUC student, a decision she regrets to this day. She then recounted her recent experience at the Paratriathalon World Championships in rainy London; though the slick roads made moving her handcycle challenging and caused other racers to give up, Davis finished in the...

Over 175 students and sponsors from twenty-one academiescame to campus September 3-5, 2013, for PUC’s twenty-third PublicationWorkshop. The annual event is an opportunity for the staff of academyyearbooks, newspapers, and other publications to gain the knowledge andinspiration to plan and execute their best publications.John Osio, a teacher at Pine Hills Adventist Academy inAuburn, Calif., brought a group of yearbook students to the workshop. “Mystudents that attend always walk away with added excitements about elementsthey want to include or improve upon in our yearbook,” Osio explains. “PublicationWorkshop really provides them with those tools.”This year, twenty presenters taught over fifty sessions onvital publication skills. Students learned how to utilize design andphotography software; strengthen writing, design, and photography skills; andedit video yearbooks. Professionals from the publications industry, educators,college student leaders, and recent PUC graduates presented each session.Rajeev Sigamoney, an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter who recently wona $10,000 prize at the 2013 Sonscreen Film Festival, gave the keynote address. Sigamoneyis the director of PUC’s film and television program in the department ofvisual arts.“It isour hope that the Publication Workshop will provide these students withspiritual insight, leadership skills, and the knowledge they need to enhancetheir school publications,” shared workshop directors Milbert Mariano andPatrick Vogelpohl.The closing...

Pacific Union College’s department of advancement and alumni relations has welcomed new staff and set forth a new vision for connecting with PUC alumni and friends. Walter Collins, the recently appointed vice president for advancement and alumni relations, and the department have set forth a mission-minded strategic plan meant to serve and minister to the college’s constituents, including PUC’s 25,000-member alumni family. “We really see ourselves as a catalyst for connection, a catalyst for service, and a catalyst for mobilization,” shares Collins. A product of K-12 Adventist education who attended Conejo Adventist Elementary School and Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Collins received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. He most recently worked as executive director of the California Symphony Orchestra, during which time the orchestra received a National Endowment for the Arts award and doubled its number of donors. Previously, Collins was the president and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country, overseeing a three million dollar organization that was distinguished as the leading non-profit organization in Sonoma County, Calif. “I am simply delighted that Walter Collins has accepted our invitation to join the administrative team,” says PUC President Heather J. Knight. “His extensive experience in fundraising,...

On August 21, Service, Justice, and Missions CoordinatorFabio Maia and ten Pacific Union College students left for an eighteen-dayevangelism mission in Fiji with ShareHim and Quiet Hour Ministries. Eachstudent will be placed in a specific community where they will present thestory of Christ’s love and sacrifice each evening. Many of the students areactive in the college’s praise and worship teams and brought their instrumentsso they can share God’s love through music.Before the group departed, the students gathered inPresident Heather J. Knight’s office for a special blessing prayer led byPastor Mark Witas, the lead pastor of the PUC Church. Pastor Witas includedspecial prayer that God lead the group in doing good in His name. The group alsobonded by sharing a meal together before heading to the airport for theirflight to Fiji.For many PUC students, summer is the perfect opportunity todevote time to ministry and service. While some students work at summer campsor serve as literature evangelists, other groups get the experience of alifetime by sharing the gospel and serving local communities in places aroundthe world. The PUC community is invited to join in prayer for the team travellingto Fiji as well as other student groups currently on short-term mission tripsto Nicaragua...