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Leila Beltran decided to attend Pacific Union College for two reasons: she heard the education department was one of the best in the Adventist school system, and she knew she thrived in a smaller community. With an interest in developing relationships and realizing she wouldn’t like to go to a college or university where everyone was just another face in a crowd, PUC was the community for Beltran to receive support and make meaningful connections. Beltran will soon complete her sophomore year of liberal studies and earn a music associate's degree. Within this school year, she has made a tremendous impact in the music department by being the president of the music club and co-directing and co-producing PUC on Broadway and Shrek the Musical. With a love for musicals and hearing students' interest in putting on a show, Beltran dedicated time to making these productions happen and considerably accommodating her cast and crew to give the community enjoyable shows. She didn’t always have a passion for musicals, aside from knowing the famous musicals Hamilton and Wicked, but not much beyond that. Movie soundtracks and music in general were something she enjoyed, but she couldn’t call herself a theater kid since...

Pacific Union College was delighted to celebrate the 245-student graduating Class of 2024 from June 14-16. The consecration service on Friday night kicked off graduation weekend at the PUC Church. The program was led by graduating class members, with Executive Vice President Sitraka Andrianarijaona welcoming family and friends. Professor of Communication Dr. Tammy McGuire addressed the congregation as the chosen speaker for vespers, where she discussed the fullness of uncertainty. Former PUC Pastor Mark Witas returned to campus to share the word for Sabbath church service. In the afternoon, Tad Worku, mission coach at Inland Empire Health Plan, spoke during the nursing graduate recognition service and was followed by the Dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences, Kimberly Dunker, who presented awards and pins to the students who completed an associate, baccalaureate, and MSN degree in nursing. Family and friends then continued celebrations afterward at the Dining Commons for the President’s Reception. Among the graduates, 177 were from the nursing and health sciences departments, 16 from the psychology and social work department, 15 from the business administration department, 10 from the chemistry department, and eight from the communication and world languages department. From completing essays and giving presentations...

The English department at Pacific Union College recently announced the winners of the second annual Emerging Voices of the Pacific Union. The English department received an influx of essays in which contestants were asked to write about a moment they were changed. “We received 90 essays, and judges were greatly impressed by the quality of submissions we received,” said Milbert Mariano, PUC dean of the school of arts, humanities, and professions. “Through a blind judging process, where the judges had no idea who or where the essay was from, it was a difficult decision to choose just three winning entries and several honorable mentions.”After attentively reviewing all the essays, PUC chose the following winners:...

The Visual Arts Department at Pacific Union College celebrated their film students at the 20th Annual Diogenes Film Festival. On May 30 at the Cameo Cinema in Saint Helena, 120 audience members watched 22 films by 18 filmmakers. In previous years, the department welcomed judges outside campus, but this year, the judges were kept within the faculty of PUC. Some of the winners included Sam Birsky, who received the Orsons Disciple; Dylan Sails and Melanie Klinedinst, who won the Audience Choice Award for Minority Report and Kateryna Popravkina for What Is This Feeling? Sails also received Best Screenplay for Before Next Winter, and Klinedinst won Filmmaker of the Future. PUC's film program emphasizes students learning to articulate their own concepts and stories and produce them at the highest quality. Visual Arts Chair Rajeev Sigamoney and Professor Tim de la Torre assist during production when needed but give their students the freedom to edit their projects as they see fit and support them as they make their vision come to life.Some projects, such as the senior thesis, took the entire school year to make, while others, like the freshmen projects, were completed over 2-3 weeks. “Seeing films screened in a professional...

When Kyra Grant was in high school, she traveled to Pacific Union College for a basketball tournament and felt a connection. Knowing she wanted to attend a smaller college in California, Grant decided to pursue her undergraduate education at PUC.  Grant is a double-major sophomore who first started as a biology pre-med major and realized after two quarters that this was not her calling. With an aptitude for psychology and an understanding of how and why people work, Grant decided to major in psychology. Additionally, she’s loved listening to or playing music since she was little. With this passion, Grant felt called to pursue the joy music brings her instead of devoting time to a major she didn't feel was her own. PUC Professor of Music Ronnie Zanella said that Grant was born with perfect pitch, a brilliant musical mind, and a natural talent. Zanella enjoyed teaching Grant Music Theory, generally the most feared class in any music department. But for Grant, there was nothing to fear, as she easily completed the class with straight A’s. “She is the type of student who always seems eager to tackle new concepts, showing interest and asking questions when she is still grasping...