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At Pacific Union College’s annual Parent Orientation on September 19, parents of incoming freshmen received a special blessing in preparation for the start of the school year. College officials also shared information on how the parents can help their students make the most of their time at PUC. Campus chaplain Laffit Cortes commended the parents and offered a blessing over all new students and their families. “Father,” Cortes prayed, “I want You to embrace these parents and give them the peace that surpasses all understanding, that they may know that You are watching over their children, that, Father, You will not abandon them.” For Marsha Horton, there were a number of reasons she and her son Byron felt that PUC was the right choice. Coming from Michigan, they were looking for a school in California and one with a Christian foundation. PUC not only offers his exercise science major, but is also his grandmother’s alma mater. “I loved [the blessing]. I think it’s a good idea to have everybody in the room and just bless this campus and the students and the parents as they start this new journey,” said Horton. “I thought that was a very important and moving...

A group of Pacific Union College students and staff spent a week providing medical care and health information to villagers along the Amazon River—part of a medical service trip in conjunction with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Brazil, August 21-29. The trip continued a recent increase in focus on humanitarian service at the college. The group traveled along the Amazon River aboard a boat, the Luzeiro 26, stopping in the remote villages which line the river. The Luzeiro 26 is one of ADRA’s river boats dedicated to reaching the villagers in the interior Amazon Basin in Brazil. With the help of local professionals, the group set up medical clinics for villagers to consult with a physician or receive dental care. They also conducted medical screenings, health presentations, workshops, and expos to aid the communities in preventing future medical issues. The educational programs make a notable impact in the locals’ lives, explains Fabio Maia, service and missions coordinator at Pacific Union College. “The problems you see in these communities are the same,” says Maia. “A lot of the people are dehydrated because they don’t drink enough water and they sweat like crazy—it’s 100 degrees and 100 percent humid, so people...

PUC physics student Shalynn Romano received the top student presenter award for outstanding research at the International Conference on the Application of Accelerators in Research and Industry (CAARI) this summer in Fort Worth, Texas. The conference included professional research physicists, and Romano’s award was in a category typically reserved for graduate students. “To be recognized for research at a professional level while being an undergrad student was a great accomplishment,” says Romano. “It made me feel like anything was possible with hard work and confidence.” Romano conducted her award-winning research at her summer internship at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, one of the premiere experimental research facilities in the world. The subject was the energy exchange of charged particles. Although her research team included several other students and physicists from educational and scientific institutions around the world, Romano was named first author on the presentation of their findings due to her extensive work and commitment in the lab. “She is very motivated and focused, which has helped her as a researcher,” says PUC physics professor Vola Andrianarijaona, one of Romano’s collaborators on the project. “This is very important, because in research you are the teacher of yourself.” Although CAARI...

U.S. News & World Report ranked PUC the second most ethnically diverse liberal arts college in the nation, in the magazine’s annual list of the best colleges and universities released last week. The ranking calculates the proportion of minority students among the student body, excluding international students. Hispanic students make up the largest single minority group, according to the report. PUC administrators celebrated the distinction as an unique educational advantage. "Living, working, and studying collaboratively with people who come from a variety of backgrounds gives students an opportunity to learn about people, ideas, and cultures, and to think critically about new ideas," says academic dean Nancy Lecourt. “It also helps prepare them for the current working world, where they often find themselves working on teams with people who are quite different from themselves.” View the official ranking online at U.S. News & World Report....

One-hundred eighty students from 23 Adventist academies visited PUC for the 2012 Publication Workshop on Wednesday and Thursday, learning writing, photography, and design techniques from college professors and working publication professionals. “The classes have really opened my mind, and just what we’ve learned today has helped us come up with a great theme for our yearbook this year,” said Brandie Scott from Mother Lode Adventist Junior Academy, a first-time attendee at Publication Workshop. “I love it so far—it has been amazing!” High school yearbook and newspaper staffers chose from courses including photojournalism, layout, brainstorming, Photoshop, editor’s forum, and feature writing. Teachers lead the eager students in many hands-on learning activities, from spreading out across campus to develop their eye for photo opportunities, to creating scrapbook-like mood boards to help refine yearbook themes. “It’s exciting to see the potential in these students and see their excitement in learning the subject,” said Brian Kyle, a photographer and graphic designer in PUC’s public relations office, who taught several photography classes at this year’s program. “When you see them catch on it’s a very fulfilling experience.” The event also included a contest that awarded the attending schools for outstanding work on their latest newspapers...