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On February 22, Rasmussen Art Gallery hosted the annual faculty show featuring work by Pacific Union College’s visual arts department. The featured artwork highlights the diverse and creative practices of PUC Visual Arts Chair Brian Kyle and Professors Amy Cronk Gatdula, Cliff Rusch, Jaymie de la Torre, Melissa Henry Pratt, Mike Murtaugh, and Nephtali Marin.For over 25 years, the faculty art show has been a tradition at the Rasmussen Art Gallery. "The inspiration behind hosting these annual exhibitions is rooted in the belief that practicing what we teach is essential," said Kyle. "The show provides an opportunity for faculty to share their creative work with students, colleagues, and the wider community. It reinforces the value of maintaining an active artistic practice while fostering dialogue and engagement with contemporary art-making processes."The show changes every year; this year focusing on 3D-printed typography, ceramic sculpture, encaustic painting, analog black and white and color photography, digital photography, mixed media, and filmmaking. With no set theme, faculty can explore their creative and artistic skills while showcasing their department's practices from traditional, experimental, and conceptual work. For PUC students, these annual faculty shows allow them to see their professors as artists, bringing their classroom lessons to...

During winter break, Pacific Union College’s music department toured Phoenix, Arizona. From February 6-9, their ensembles performed at Thunderbird SDA Academy and Elementary, Glenview SDA Academy, Paradise Valley SDA Church, Adventist Worship Center SDA Church, and Camelback SDA Church. “We had wonderful performances,” said Ronnie Zanella, PUC’s associate music professor. “Both our groups performed at a very high level of musicianship.” The two groups, comprised of 15 students, showcased different performances at each academy and church, while some students also led out in praise at academies. Seven pieces were performed by the Mosaic String Ensemble, while the Vox Pro Musica sang five songs. They held shorter performances at academies while performing a complete concert program over the weekend, with some pieces combining the groups.Zanella shared that the men from Vox Pro Musica learned a quartet piece by the Heritage Singers hours before their concert at Camelback Church and performed it well. “It was interesting to discover all of them have the same interest in this more traditional type of acapella male quartet music,” he said. “It’s also amazing to see how trips like these really bond our students, and us faculty to them as well, creating a safe and fun...

The nursing department at Pacific Union College is thrilled to have new equipment that will help shape and strengthen its students’ education experience. Using Song-Brown funds—grant money funded by the California Department of Health Care Access and Information, supporting nursing schools and workforce expansion in California—PUC's nursing department was able to purchase an anatomy table that students can start using in the new year. This state-of-the-art technology is the most advanced human-based medical education system, offering digitized human cadavers and medical tools. Currently, 80 colleges, universities, and medical programs across California utilize the table. For PUC, the anatomage table will better prepare pre-nursing students to take required prerequisite courses like biology, chemistry, microbiology, anatomy, and physiology. “We felt this table and the resource of having five human cadavers would be beneficial not just in pre-nursing but also as the students progress into nursing,” said PUC Dean of Nursing & Health Science Kimberly Dunker. “For the visual learners, this is an opportunity to utilize case study learning and understand and critically think about a medical problem but also visualize this problem in the body. It is a great way to incorporate teaching and learning for all types of learners.”In addition to...

Pacific Union College welcomed 16 academies nationwide for their annual basketball tournament from January 22-25. Pine Tree Academy in Maine, College View Academy in Nebraska, and Hawaiian Mission Academy accepted PUC’s invitation to visit the college and partake in the tournament. Among the California schools that competed were:- Escondido Adventist Academy- Newbury Park Academy- Rio Lindo Adventist Academy- Monterey Bay Academy- Mountain View Academy- Central Valley Christian Academy- Lodi Academy- Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy- Pine Hills Adventist Academy- Paradise Adventist Academy- Trinity Prep- PUC Prep- Calistoga High SchoolCollege View Academy placed first for the girls' teams, with Calistoga High School coming in second, and Hawaiian Mission Academy in third place. For the boy's teams, Paradise Adventist Academy placed first, with College View Academy coming in second place, and Rio Lindo Adventist Academy following in third. PUC Prep Physical Education Teacher Matthew Lee, PUC Athletic Director Hernan Granados, and PUC Campus Visit Coordinator Andrianna Massena organized the event, ensured students had an unforgettable time, and live-streamed the games for families who could not travel to the tournament in-person. “I believe the tournament went really well!” said Massena. “Since this is my third year being able to work side-by-side with Matt Lee,...

Pacific Union College Flight Center Director Nathan Tasker had the idea to build a type-specific aircraft simulator for his students. Since flight training devices in general aviation tend to be generic, limiting their usefulness, Tasker questioned how he and the program could obtain a simulator to teach basic skills, such as visual ground reference maneuvers and landing techniques. This would allow students to progress efficiently, as these skills cannot be effectively taught in traditional simulators. He shared his dream with Russell Laird, the former chair of PUC’s technology department, who would help bring this idea to life. Building the simulator started last summer, with dimensions mirroring PUC’s Piper Cherokee cockpit. Aviation major Micah Dymer drew an instrument panel that Laird would build and design. Taylor Webster consistently assisted Laird, with several other aviation students who volunteered to assemble parts and help calibrate the controls. From Hong Kong to Indonesia to Germany and Sacramento, different parts arrived in Angwin to build the simulator. According to Tasker, building a type-specific flight simulator for a small aircraft had not been done before. This process took countless hours of experimenting, ongoing improvements, and adjustments. With no manual and starting from scratch, it is rewarding...

From January 21-25, Pacific Union College was blessed with five students who spoke for Student Week of Worship, themed  “Passion: As Told By You.” Students Abiel Irving, Josue Hilario, Elena Blum, Julian Clarke, and Leila Beltran shared how passion is the force that drives intentional action toward God, everyone, and everything. It was a powerful week seeing students from different backgrounds, some of whom haven’t spoken upfront before, sharing personal stories on their relationship with Christ and encouraging others to seek Him. “Students could be in the audience and think, ‘That could be me!’” said Beltran. “It was so inspiring to see people share how their mind works when it comes to PASSION, our theme. You connect so much better with speakers who are like you and that’s what this quarter’s Student Week of Worship was all about.” Irving enthusiastically kicked the week off by speaking about how faith plays a part in our lives, with the Holy Spirit working in the people and situations around us. Reading from Hebrews 13:5, she reminded the audience that God will never forsake His people. Irving shared another uplifting text from Philippians 4:13 and encouraged students to find strength in Christ and be...

Jarrod Denton, a 1996 PUC graduate, is an architect, partner, and founder at Signum Architecture, LLP. He and his business partner Juancarlos Fernandez launched their firm in St. Helena in 2011 and relocated to Napa in 2023. When they founded the firm, they chose the name “Signum”—a Latin term for design—to reflect the center point of the firm and represent their unique studio environment. Signum looks at architecture from a holistic point of view. With a diverse group of talented workers, they collaborate with artists, offering a perspective beyond traditional architecture and are knowledgeable in low-carbon construction. From caves to boutique hospitality and restaurants, Denton gravitates towards diverse architectural styles, especially if the project is elusive, requires a challenging creative solution, and is reusable to bring it to life. “I love the process—coming up with a design concept, not falling in love with the first solution, nurturing the design along, distilling the solution down to the essence, and ultimately walking through a built space,” he shared. When all is complete, projects designed by Denton and his team feel more rewarding because they prioritize their client and the environment. For Denton, the joys of being an architect are using the transformative...

Pacific Union College has seen a significant increase in student attendance at dorm worship. This attendance increase follows the combined efforts of students and staff to enhance these worship opportunities, showing how listening to students and tending to their spiritual needs strengthens their relationship with Christ and keeps them hungry for His word. On average, 100 to 120 students attend dorm worship weekly, a great improvement from last year when less than 60 students attended. Students are moving in numbers, encouraging their friends, and gathering together to share their faith. Last school year, Winning, Newton, and Andre Hall individually hosted worship open to all students. However, the scattered programs felt too similar to students, leaving them drained and unenthusiastic about any worship program. Throughout the week, fewer students attended. To fix this issue, student leaders and several staff members combined all dorm worship—with Newton, Andre, and Winning Hall—every Tuesday night at Scales Chapel, adopting a three-week rotation to lead each program. This rotation allows students to develop more creative ways to enhance worship without the stress of feeling burnt out. Another change they made is not having a speaker every week, and instead, having an activity to add program variety....

From November 1-4, Pacific Union College welcomed 300 guests for their annual College Days.This included students from Calexico Mission School, Central Valley Christian Academy, Fresno Adventist Academy, Glendale Adventist Academy, La Sierra Academy, Lodi Adventist Academy, Monterey Bay Academy, Mountain View Academy, Napa Christian, Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Pine Hills Adventist Academy, PUC Prep, Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, Sacramento Adventist Academy, and a church group from Costa Mesa.PUC Campus Visit Coordinator Andrianna Massena organized College Days for the third year, focusing on the feedback her team received in the past years and finding more ways to showcase campus life.Over the weekend, students had the opportunity to mingle during vespers and Afterlite, hear from PUC Chaplain Arturo Lopez during Sabbath School, hike in the Back 40, attend and participate in sporting events, explore St. Helena, and much more. PUC students ensured the visiting academies were welcomed and immersed in campus life. They hosted a Fall Fest and later, continued to socialize with other academy students during PUC’s version of “The Amazing Race,” where they explored campus landmarks and were rewarded with a waffle dessert bar as a late-night snack.As the PUC campus started a new week of school, academy students chose...

One day, Pacific Union College alum Jordan Wareham (2004) saw a raffle advertisement on Facebook for a 1968 Beechcraft Musketeer from the American Flight Museum in Topeka, Kansas. Thinking it was a scam, Wareham put his name in the raffle for fun and purchased six tickets, with proceeds going to the museum's aviation education.Time passed without word on the raffle until April, when Wareham was at Bowling Green State University in Ohio for his doctoral residency. He saw the museum would announce the raffle winner and watched the live drawing. When the announcer said his name—Wareham almost fell out of his chair.With 90 days to decide if he wanted the plane, Wareham and his wife determined this was not the time to operate a plane privately. They deeply felt this prize had been gifted to them for a greater purpose and knew they wanted to do something special.Wareham reached out to PUC Flight Director Nathan Tasker, who, at the time, was preparing to return to PUC. The aviation program needed a second primary training aircraft, and through a generous agreement, the Musketeer (N6066N) would be leased to PUC essentially for free. PUC Flight Instructor Luke Butler traveled to Kansas, inspected...