Search - by Michelle Konn

There’s a new look to the filming industry, and it is refreshingly centered on Christ. College students from all over the U.S. brought their best to the first annual SONscreen Film Festival held in Ontario, California. The festival gave young Adventist video producers the opportunity to showcase their original videos, network with industry professionals, and even win prize money. Christopher “Kit” Kohler, senior digital video technology major at Pacific Union College, received the second runner up prize of $1,000 for “Best in Show” (out of nearly 30 entries). In addition to Kohler’s prize money, the SONscreen Film Festival donated $1,000 to PUC’s technology department. Kohler’s winning video, “The Mike Copithorne Story”, depicted the life of a PUC alumnus who was paralyzed after a skiing accident. Copithorne, formerly a professional wake boarder, has managed to still remain active in water sports, fly fishing, and his love for Christ. The film centered on life, love, and hope—elements that encapsulate our walk with the Lord. “His life is a miracle,” said Kohler. “I thought it was a story that really needed to be told in the video medium.” Jon Wood, professor of technology at PUC, agrees that video cameras are becoming an important...

Have you ever wanted to do something big for Jesus, but didn’t know where to start? Several PUC students found their starting point this summer during a three-week mission trip to Ghana from August 26-September 18. Led by Dr. Warren Ashworth, professor of religion at PUC, nine students found out what it was like to preach to the masses—through a translator, that is. Their destination city of Kumasi in Ghana, West Africa, is the center of the Ashanti Nation, whose people speak Twi. The group’s mission was to present a total of 170 sermons in 10 different locations throughout the city. This meant that each team member would be responsible for 17 sermons, each aided by PowerPoint presentations and pictures—courtesy of Elder Bob Folkenberg, Global Mission Coordinator for the North Carolina Conference. “I was so proud of my students,” exclaimed Ashworth. “Each student on the team was able to get up and preach to their own ‘congregation’ with no formal training.” As a bonus, the daily presentations included segments from a video called "Jesus," that was actually in Twi! The PUC team had an unforgettable last Sabbath there as they witnessed 1,300 newborn Christians being baptized in a lake. Local...

Pacific Union College recently inducted 11 students into its newly established Epsilon Rho Chapter of Lambda Pi Eta, the national honor society for communication. In the Greek alphabet, Lambda, Pi, and Eta are the first letters of the words logos, pathos, and ethos, which are listed by Aristotle in The Rhetoric as the three modes of persuasion. The purpose of Lambda Pi Eta is to recognize, foster, and reward outstanding scholastic achievement in communication studies. The Epsilon Rho Chapter plans to promote development of its members by sharing original research, participating in speech contests, and stimulating discussion in the field of communication. Shelia Hsu, president of the PUC chapter, said students were excited about starting the society. "We wanted to learn more about certain aspects of communication that we didn't have a lot of exposure to," Hsu said. "It gives us the freedom to explore things outside of the classroom." Students may obtain membership by meeting several requirements. They must be full-time students with at least 90 quarter credit-hours completed; they must be in the top 35 percent of their academic class; they must have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all courses taken; and have a...

Pacific Union College's Dramatic Arts Society is presenting Twelfth Night, a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, from May 8 to 13.The plot involves a twin brother and sister, Sebastian (Eric Ortner) and Viola (Kami Schey), who have been shipwrecked off the coast of the island of Illyria. The twins become separated, and each believes the other has drowned. Illyria is governed by Duke Orsino (Ciprian Gheorghe), who has been unsuccessfully trying to court a noblewoman, Olivia (Anna McCart).Viola decides to dress as a man in order to survive in her new found position as a single woman in a strange country. She obtains a position with Duke Orsino and is given the task of delivering the Duke's messages of love to the Lady Olivia. Viola complies, but in the course of doing so finds herself in love with the Duke. To complicate matters further, Olivia falls in love with the Duke's messenger, not knowing that he is really a woman. This sets the stage for an intriguing love triangle whose resolution will delight viewers of all ages.Sophomore Anna McCart said working on the play has been a challenge. "The language of Shakespeare is difficult to learn, but I think it...

The Pacific Union College men's volleyball team took a surprising victory at home this past Saturday night, April 5. The Pioneers defeated UC Davis' club team in three straight sets: 15-7, 16-14, 15-8. Previously, the Pioneers had lost at Davis in four sets.The Pioneers got off to a strong start, forcing Davis to call a timeout as they trailed 1-6. Plagued with passing errors, Davis tried to regroup with another timeout at 7-12. The Pioneers took Davis out of their game and won 15-7.It looked like a repeat performance, as the Pioneers led 12-6 in the second set. However, Davis' outside hitter Owen Roberts served five straight points, forcing PUC to call a timeout at 13-11. A close rally continued until Scott Eastman and Rob Wells teamed up with back-to-back kills and ended the set 16-14.Davis trailed 6-10 in game three and never got on their feet. Strong jump serves, including an ace by Pioneer Joe Kim, brought the score to 13-7. With middle blocker Rob Wells on the front line, Davis didn't have a chance. The Pioneers took the game 15-8 with ease."We really didn't get a chance to play our game at Davis," said outside hitter David Rai....

The Pacific Union College men's volleyball team emerged victorious in an intense five-game match against Sonoma State University last Tuesday night.The match opened with a tribute to senior Pioneers David Rai and Rob Wells, who were each honored at their last home game with a signed volleyball.Outside hitter Scott Eastman set the pace for game one as he pulled off one of the most incredible plays of the season. Jonathan Paden picked up a dig, which deflected high off Steve Dulcich into the stands. Eastman ran from mid-court to outside of the back line and managed to get the ball across the net. A stunned Sonoma team, who thought the ball was irretrievable, lost focus and could not get the ball back over. The crowd went wild as the Pioneers went on from a 12-5 lead to win the set 15-9.In game two, the Pioneers picked up where they left off. Outside hitter David Rai impressed the crowd with strong jump serves, including an ace, to give the Pioneers the lead at 7-4. Rai later brought PUC up 12-4 with a kill from the right side. The Pioneers looked like they were on a three-set victory as they ended the...

The Black Student Forum (BSF) Gospel Choir, initially organized by BSF Club members to sing for Black History Weekend, is now a student-based ministry consisting of students from a wide range of ethnic cultures and backgrounds.The 52-member choir has performed for churches and schools in Northern and Southern California, including special appearances at the Black Convocation in Richmond. The choir works on a voluntary basis and is open to anyone interested in black culture and gospel music.Colleen Sovory, who directed the choir last year, said everyone had to grow as the choir became more culturally diverse. "It was a learning experience for the members, and the choir has evolved into a more cosmopolitan sound," she said. "But the love of music and the Lord brought them all together."Sovory, now an enrollment counselor at PUC, remembers the choir as "informal" when it started in 1991. She was a student and a member of the BSF club at the time. "We started the choir because many students were used to singing gospel music, but no one on campus was doing it."Several years later, Sovory was working in Sacramento when a student from Pacific Union College asked her to direct the choir for...

They have been "kaptivating" audiences for more than five years with their unique blend of sacred and contemporary Christian music. Sophomores Kathy Caraig, Kristy Caraig, and Amrita Rai are now learning how to use their talents on a larger scale.Kathy, Kristy, and Amrita, who have been friends since the second grade, started singing together "just for fun" as freshmen at Glendale Adventist Academy. "It was more of a hobby, something we loved doing," Kathy said.All three are members of the Eagle Rock Seventh-day Adventist church, where they gave their first performance for the church's renovated sanctuary dedication service in 1992.Eagle Rock Pastor Jim Pedersen said he was pleased when Kathy, Kristy, and Amrita started singing together. "I was pleasantly surprised that we had such talent here," said Pedersen. "They are very spiritually committed and are very good friends, too."After graduating from GAA in 1995, Kathy, Kristy, and Amrita brought their talents to PUC where they were soon dubbed "PUC's Freshman Trio."Actually, their real name is "Kaptivate," and their focus has gradually evolved from hobby to mission. "God has opened the door for us to proclaim His word through music," Amrita said. "We've accepted and we plan to make a difference."This...

Intensity filled the crowd as the Pacific Union College men's basketball team grasped a 77-76 home court win against the CSU Cal Maritime Keelhaulers on Saturday night, Feb. 8.The Pioneers and the Keelhaulers were neck-to-neck the entire match, and were tied 29-29 with 3:02 left in the first half. Pioneer guard Mario Perez banked a three-pointer to bring the Pioneers up 36-31. By the end of the half, PUC was leading 38-34.The second half brought more excitement to the court as Pioneer forward Bryan Patterson executed a three-point play. Perez followed with two three-pointers in a row. Pioneer forward Brett Graves got in on the action with another three-pointer which brought PUC up 52-40 and caused a Keelhauler time-out.With 9:58 left in the second half, Pioneer forward Rob Adams brought the crowd to their feet with a tip-in dunk off of a missed free throw by Perez. The Keelhaulers answered with three consecutive three-pointers from forward Mike Walker which gave them a 61-59 lead.Pioneer forward Matt Hickman got fouled and made both of his free throws, bringing PUC a 77-73 lead with :10 left in the game. The Keelhaulers came back with a three-pointer by Walker with :03 left ....

The Pacific Union College Men's Pioneer basketball team lost 83-92 to the Dominican College Penguins on Sunday night, Jan. 12, at PUC's Pacific Auditorium.The Pioneers got off to a slow 0-5 start, and never took the lead during the game. Pioneer head coach Mike Hellie called a timeout with PUC trailing 10-16.The Pioneers tied the Penguins at 26-26, but PUC could not gain control and called another timeout at 29-35.Pioneer junior forward Rob Adams came back with a slam dunk just before half time, with Dominican leading 50-45.The Pioneers kept the game close in the second half, starting with a three point play by freshman forward Bryan Patterson. Adams came back again with another dunk, and junior guard Brett Graves' three-pointer tied the score again at 58-58.The Penguins came back with a nine-point streak, forcing PUC to take a timeout at 60-69.The Penguins held on to the lead at 85-80 with 1:35 minutes remaining in the game. Although Pioneers held the crowd's attention throughout the game, the seconds ticked away and the final score was in favor of Dominican College 92-83.The Pioneers were led by Brett Graves with 21 points and 8 rebounds. Junior center Bryan Banfield followed with 20...