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"When I was a little boy, I saw 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace' and it blew my mind. Ever since then, I have wanted to make movies."Julian Ybarra, senior film and tv production major from Houston, admits there is some humor to that statement, because he doesn't even like that movie anymore."It's completely unrepresentative of what I want to do," he says. "I want to direct and make movies, but not blockbusters. I want to create literary movies."Ybarra has already started making this dream a reality, focusing on film in his major of choice. At the beginning of April, Pacific Union College had six student films nominated for awards and showing at SONscreen, an annual film festival created and sponsored by the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD). One of these films was Ybarra's experimental film, "Genesis.""My film is a meta narrative for one thing," Ybarra explains. "It's a story wherein the characters aren't representative of themselves, but of characters in a badly written story." Ybarra actually appears in his own film as the director."For another thing, I don't shoot in video," he says. "The film is all stills for the most part until the very end....

Over the week of Spring Break in March, nearly 40 PUC students volunteered their time, energy, and muscles on a small island in the country of Fiji. Together with a few students from La Sierra University and the three student missionaries already on-site from PUC and one from Walla Walla University, the young adults built housing for student missionaries who regularly serve the 400 people who live on the island. "We've done mission trips to this location five times now," says Fábio Maia, service and missions coordinator. "We try to build relationships with the people there, rather than just doing something, leaving, and never going back."In addition to building housing and providing Vacation Bible School for the kids, the group had two doctors, two dentists, and two dental hygienists accompany them to offer basic care to the island residents. Thanks to a partnership with the local ministers of health and education, everything went smoothly."I wanted to go to Fiji because I'd heard so many other students who went in the past say it was the best mission experience they'd ever had," says Erika Dalida, senior health communication and pre-professional major. "I had no expectations except that it was going to...

"I felt judged for going to church on Sunday."This was one of several authentic admissions made to a group of around 150 students, faculty, and staff in the Fireside Room on Wednesday evening, May 2. The crowd was gathered to hear and learn from the honest perspectives of three current PUC students who did not grow up Adventist. It was the first event in the #YouBelong PUC Talks series, a new concept focused on conversation and discussion."Last year, student officers created a diversity statement," explains Megan Weems, Student Association (SA) president. "The basic idea is there are no disclaimers from the love, sacrifice, and salvation of Jesus Christ."Looking for something more meaningful than a document, the current SA officers and senators began a plan for productive campus conversations on belonging."I'm proud of our students for leading and participating in conversations about challenging topics that impact us all," says Bob Cushman, PUC president. "They have demonstrated civil discourse is not out of their reach, and I enjoy observing their interactions as they confront these important cultural issues."Prayer sets the tone of each event, followed by connection activities, panel discussions, and moderated conversation."There's a difference between tolerance and acceptance," says Alma Musvosvi,...

Ask anyone, and you’ll get variations on a theme, but it’s impossible to relive the history of Pacific Union College without including Rita Hoshino, ’79, in a significant way.This is why, on Saturday, April 21, during Homecoming Weekend, approximately 100 of Rita’s friends and family gathered in the Campus Center to honor, remember, and celebrate Rita. Ice cream and strawberries were served, and members of the Hawai’ian Club performed two hula numbers by the fountain in front of Paulin Hall to close the event.It was during this event Kellie Lind, chief advancement officer, officially announced the Campus Center will be renamed the Hoshino Center, in honor of Rita, who dedicated her life to mentoring and supporting students.“This event was a beautiful celebration honoring Rita’s contributions to PUC, and a chance for her friends and family to remember her with stories of the past and plans for the future,” says Lind. “Current college administration is committed to permanently recognizing Rita’s contribution to campus life at PUC for more than 25 years. We want to continue her legacy.”Rita graduated in 1979 with a bachelor of science degree in art and began working at the college immediately. She served students as a professional...

“Picture the scene,” says Asher Raboy, resident artist in the department of music at Pacific Union College. “Jesus stands on a mountainside, facing an audience used to an Old Testament God of vengeance. It’s the middle of the Roman occupation. It’s a world of vengeance. And the first word Jesus speaks as he begins that sermon on the mount is not ‘smite,’ it’s ‘blessed.’ The world is changed overnight.”Raboy is explaining the reason behind his choice of setting for his latest composition, The Beatitudes. The 40-minute cantata based on Matthew 5 was written for choir, orchestra, and three soloists, and will have its debut during PUC’s Homecoming Weekend in honor of Paulin Hall’s 50th anniversary.“Most people, when they set the beatitudes, use peaceful, quiet music,” Raboy continues. “That’s not the message I wanted to give. The first time the word ‘blessed’ comes into the piece, it is a very harsh chord. Loud, and clanging. It’s a representation of how discordant it was to hear that word.”Primarily a pianist, Raboy began his love affair with music at the age of five, when his sister began taking lessons. His father was the son of immigrants who believed to be American, you had...

Last school year, Pacific Union College English and pre-med major Laurel Kwon and fellow honors student Jeff Richards worked together on a project. They visited Foothills Elementary School just a few minutes from campus and demonstrated some chemistry experiments.“The kids loved it!” Laurel recalls with a grin. “So, I got to thinking, why not make this a regular thing to get kids excited about seeing what we were going to do next?”That summer, Laurel shared her idea with her friend, John Jung, a biology major. He liked the idea, and at that moment, SPARK was born.SPARK, or Science Presentations And Research for Kids, is a program that connects PUC students with local elementary, middle, and high school students under the umbrella of science. The idea is to send small groups of PUC students into schools to give age-appropriate demonstrations and explanations of various aspects of science. SPARK is supported and sponsored by professor Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology, and Dr. Kent Davis, chair of the department of chemistry, who help the students coordinate with local schools and oversee the demonstrations provided.“We want to create opportunities for children to not only learn about science, but also learn to...

“The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it” (Psalms 89:11). This scripture is the driving concept behind the annual Math Science Workshop invitational for high school students at Pacific Union College. Its driving force? Faculty who look to God as the Creator and the source of all true knowledge. The 2018 Math & Science Workshop took place Sunday, Feb. 25.“We work hard to make this program interesting and fun,” says professor Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology and coordinator of the workshop, “but our real goal is to make it intellectually stimulating. We want the students to leave here with an enriched understanding of math and science.” The workshop has been taking place for over 50 years, but has recently been overhauled based on feedback from teachers and students. Events and activities are geared toward high school seniors interested in math and science, and gives them an opportunity to experience their interests at a college level.“This is a time when our seniors need more information about what college is like and how they are to succeed in that environment,” says Bob Nobuhara, biological and natural sciences teacher...

On Feb. 21, over 60 students from several high schools and academies will gather on the campus of Pacific Union College for the 2018 band festival. Three days of intense rehearsal will culminate in a concert on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m., at the Paulin Hall auditorium.Selections for the concert include “Sinfonia VI” by Timothy Broege, “Down in the River” by Jay Bocook, and “Three Ayres from Gloucester” by Hugh Stuart, among others.“Over the years, we have alternated between me and guest artists conducting the festival,” says Asher Raboy, PUC wind symphony director and event coordinator. “I was looking for talented composers and conductors who were also showing up to conduct festivals and workshops. I found Rodney Dorsey.”Dorsey, associate professor of conducting and director of bands and the Oregon wind ensemble at the University of Oregon, will be conducting this year’s band festival at PUC.“He really knows his way around band music, band instruments, and band repertoire,” Raboy says. “He’s worked with musicians of all ages, and he’s a nice guy, too.”Raboy has been teaching at PUC for over a decade, and he continues to enjoy these festivals and the students who attend them.“I’ve done a lot of festivals...

What happens when you combine 13 teacher candidates, a room full of potential employers, and food? Jobs happen, that’s what. On Feb. 5-6, seniors in the department of education at Pacific Union College were given the opportunity to dine and visit with both Adventist conference and public school education superintendents and principals from across Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. It was the annual Education Days at PUC, which has been taking place for over a dozen years, and by all accounts it was a smashing success.“We do everything possible to get these students jobs when they graduate,” says Debra Murphy, field services and TPA coordinator for the department. “Personal contact is so important. These days employers aren’t just looking at credentials; they’re also looking at personality to determine how well a potential employee will fit into the culture of the environment in which they’ll be working.”The event began with a Dr. Seuss-themed dinner on Monday evening, with seating assigned based on students’ interest in particular geographic locations, so they can visit with representatives from their desired area. Students greet and seat the principals and superintendents, so from the very beginning of the event they have a chance for one-on-one...

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, remain silent.”This quote by former president John F. Kennedy is how Pacific Union College president Bob Cushman opened colloquy on Thursday, Feb. 1. This civil rights-focused assembly featured speaker Terrence Roberts, one of the Little Rock Nine.The Little Rock Nine was a group of nine courageous teenagers who, in 1957, were the first black students to attend classes at previously all-white Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. This move involved armed guards, first to keep the students out by order of the governor, then to escort them safely inside by order of President Eisenhower. Their courage and the courage of their parents left a legacy of determination and standing for what’s right.Last week, Roberts spoke in the PUC Church on “The Fierce Urgency of Now.”“It came to my awareness as a young person that tremendous effort was required by those around me to keep the truth at bay,” Roberts said in his presentation. “After school, I’d say my day was fine and my parents would say they had a good day. We all knew we were all lying, but we had to keep the...