Search - Lainey S. Cronk

The men grow out their beards; villagers dance in the halls of Paulin; and on the grass by the tennis courts stands Tevye, giving his opening speech to Angwin. The Fiddler on the Roof has come to the hilltop, and a dedicated cast and crew fill the air with their lines, songs, dances and theatrical enthusiasm as they throw themselves into the Napa Valley Musical Theatre production that will be the first musical produced in the newly remodeled Lincoln Theatre. If you wander into Paulin Hall some evening, you’re likely to encounter a lot of actors (there are over 41 in the musical, all PUC students, faculty or staff) and crew (the artistic and administrative team consists of over 20 people, including professionals from Napa and San Francisco). They may be doing Japanese warm-up exercises, or discussing what’s not working in a particular scene, or dancing around in the halls for lack of any other available space. Some of the actors are no surprise—students who have consistently been front-and-center in PUC’s drama and music. “But,” says Mei Ann Teo, our English department Resident Artist and Fiddler’s director, “look at the majors of these students: graphic design, nursing, business, chemistry...the list...

Brass gleamed all across the stage, an epidemic of foot tapping spread through the crowd, and waves of appreciative noise frequently erupted after solo sections. In their first official full-length concert, the PUC Jazz Band filled the well-populated auditorium with great tunes and enthusiastic responses. An engaging mix of works, including “Georgia on my Mind,” Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” and a peppy arrangement of “Just a Closer Walk,” kept the concert varied and enlivening. Though informal jazz bands have been meeting and playing at PUC for some time, this is the first year the band is offered as a credit class. At the end of fall quarter, the jazz band played a well-received set after the PUC Wind Ensemble concert. But their March 12 concert was, you might say, their first truly solo flight. A jazz concert is all about having fun—both onstage and in the audience. And there’s no question: the PUC jazz band concert was just plain fun....

With cold, wet days suddenly exchanged for the vibrant spring sun, all the many-legged and many-eyed critters stir and emerge from their winter homes. Likewise, students swarm out of dorm rooms and study carrels and spatter the campus with bright voices and short-sleeved shirts (and an influx of doe-eyed couples). The tennis courts are well populated in the evenings, and a stream of students flows around the track. Outdoor picnic tables have suddenly become popular again, and attempts at studying for looming finals are moved outside, with backpacks and textbooks spread on the thick green grass. Meanwhile, construction has energetically resumed on the prayer chapel, adding the sounds of tractors and shovels to the general hubbub. Trees blossom with all the preposterous elegance of old-time belles. Students drive up from St. Helena with their windows down. There’s no denying it: it’s spring in Angwin....

If you had been walking through the Napa Valley Adventist Retirement Estates last week, you might have encountered a strange mix of college students and white-haired folk all in the depths of a very exciting activity: filling out tax returns. A number of years ago, business administration professor Henry Kopitzke started a service learning opportunity with his “Taxation for Individuals” students. They trooped down to the Retirement Estates in Yountville and helped the residents with their tax returns. The next year, Kopitzke was contacted by Veterans Services, and he added the Yountville Veterans Home to his project. Kopitzke’s students are given the option of doing either an all-day tax return lab for the retirees or writing a short paper. Every single student has chosen the lab. “I’ve had some students who were real cynics about it beforehand,” says Kopitzke. “But when they’re done, they’re completely changed!” It’s a very personal project, he explains, because the students are meeting these individuals and then sitting down with them and going through the filing process. In the end, they hand their “client” a completed return. Koptizke says, “I tell my students, ‘these people are going to sign the return you do for them...