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In early August, Pacific Union College created connections by making its mark at the International Pathfinder Camporee in Gillette, Wyoming, providing engaging activities, essential training, and showcasing Adventist higher education to the 60,000 plus young people from across the globe. Despite intense storms and weather-related setbacks, PUC staff and students had the incredible opportunity to witness God’s presence and power amidst the storms.Showcasing Adventist EducationMembers of PUC’s enrollment team collaborated with representatives from four other Adventist colleges to run the Association of Adventist Colleges and Universities (AACU) booth, highlighting the unique offerings of PUC and other institutions. The booth, located in the heart of the event’s main exhibit area—Energy Hall—ensured high visibility and engagement with the steady flow of Pathfinders and their families.Providing Excitement, Engagement, and TrainingAlongside its educational outreach, PUC’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) program director, 11 EMS students, and enrollment team members offered an exciting activity and Pathfinder honor training.Erected on the front lawn of Energy Hall stood PUC’s 20-foot-tall climbing wall, draped with PUC promotional banners. While four participants scaled the climbing wall at a time, those in line could interact with PUC staff. Upon successfully scaling the wall, participants received a custom-made metal collector’s pin—continuing the...

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,...