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On February 7, 2011, over 100 principals, superintendents and education directors from the Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists arrived at Pacific Union College for 2011 Education Days, an annual networking event for future educators. Organized by PUC, Education Days offers potential employers from Seventh-day Adventist schools and institutions opportunities to mingle with and interview teacher candidates from the education program at PUC. The program kicked off with a festive western-themed dinner, and guests got into the spirit by donning cowboy boots and ten-gallon hats for the occasion. A mock band, made up of educators, provided rousing entertainment for the crowd. Aside from dining with teacher candidates, guests also had an opportunity to meet students through a formal introduction. A longstanding tradition of the Education Days banquet, students offer a brief presentation that includes their reason for teaching and areas for which they are credentialed. “The opportunity for the students to sit across the table from a prospective employer is a nice touch,” said Kelly Bock, education director for the Pacific Union Conference. “I also appreciate seeing students perform in front of an audience that is outside their comfort zones. I learn a lot about teachers by watching how they...

The Pacific Union College student body, faculty and staff celebrated African-American heritage on Thursday, February 3, as part of a year-round effort to recognize the diverse ethnic and cultural makeup that characterizes the campus. Colloquy began with a congregational singing of James Weldon Johnson’s “Black National Anthem” and performances of spirituals “Going Up Yonder” and “For Every Mountain.” Emil Peeler, Ph.D., a Seventh-day Adventist evangelist and senior pastor of the Sixteenth Street Church in San Bernardino, Calif., then gave an inspirational address entitled “Don’t Forget the Dungeon,” in which he urged “I believe this is a generation that is called for greatness; I believe God is preparing this generation to be servant-leaders.” Peeler continued to relate the Biblical story of Abimelech and the prophet Jeremiah, suggesting that students choose to do what is right, even when power and position are at stake. As part of heritage week, the PUC cafeteria menu featured vegetarian versions of classic soul food dishes throughout the day. Other campus-wide heritage celebrations throughout the year have included and will include Hispanic-American, European-American and Asian-American....

Students, faculty and staff at Pacific Union College enjoyed a week of spiritual rejuvenation as Winter Revival took place on campus. The quarterly revival featured PUC alum Godfrey Miranda, ‘05, a pastor from Central California and a student at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological seminary, who brought the campus together in prayer and worship in a series of meetings held from Wednesday, January 19, through Saturday, January 22. Miranda flew in from Michigan with his wife and daughter last week upon the request of family friend and Student Association religious vice president Mark Monterroso, who asked Miranda to be the first of a group of speakers he hopes will challenge people on campus to develop a closer relationship with God. “I want students to work towards something that’s not necessarily out of their reach, but something that they’ll have to make an effort to do,” said Monterroso. “This quarter, we’re going to learn to actually take ownership of ‘you and God’; not let somebody carry you through it or just going by observation.” To get started on this goal, Miranda encouraged the campus to continue the revival past the single week by dedicating time daily to build a closer relationship with...

International Biblical scholar Jacques Doukhan will present this year’s Heubach Lecture Saturday, February 19 at 5:00 P.M. at Pacific Union College’s Scales Chapel. The topic of Doukahn’s presentation will be “Affirming Creation: More than ‘not Evolution.’” Doukhan is a professor of Hebrew and Old Testament exegesis at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary and director of the Institute for Jewish-Christian Studies at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich. He holds an M.A. in Hebrew language and literature from the Adventist Seminary in Collonges; a Ph.D. in the same field from the University of Strasbourg; a Th.D. in Biblical studies and systematic theology from Andrews University; and an M.A. in Egyptology from the University of Montpellier. He has published ten books, including Genesis Creation Story: Its Literary Structure; Drinking at the Sources; Daniel, The Vision of the End; Hebrew for Theologians; Secrets of Daniel: A Jewish Prince in Exile; Secrets of Revelation: The Apocalypse Through Hebrew Eyes; Israel and the Church: Two Voices for the Same God; Mystery of Israel; and Ecclesiastes: All Is Vanity. The Heubach Lectureship Series was founded in 1998 to honor PUC religion professor Paul C. Heubach. The lectureship, which is funded by friends of the professor, aims...

It was 5:52 p.m. on January 12, 2010, just one hour after a massive earthquake had hit Haiti, and Timothy Wolfer wrote an impulsive but sincere post on his Facebook page. “Any one want to help a poor documentary film maker buy a ticket to Haiti?” For most other people, the comment would have been nothing more than an offhand shot in the dark. But Wolfer, a Pacific Union College film and television major with experience filming in humanitarian crisis zones, was so serious that immediately after posting, he began packing his bags. Six hours later, an anonymous donor supplied Wolfer with two airplane tickets. Recruiting a friend to assist, Wolfer headed to the airport that weekend. All flights to Haiti were cancelled, so he did the next best thing: landing in the Dominican Republic, Wolfer hitchhiked with his camera equipment across the border into Haiti—a wasteland of devastation and uncertainty. Now exactly one year later, the resulting film, Adopting Haiti, will be released to a worldwide audience online on Wednesday, January 12. Mattoid Entertainment will screen the film exclusively on www.hulu.com. The documentary follows the story of Maison des Enfants de Dieu, an orphanage in Haiti. Through a friend’s...

After being named a best value in higher education earlier this year by U.S. News and World Report, Pacific Union College announces a new program to make an Adventist college experience even more affordable. Starting fall 2011, incoming PUC students will receive scholarships guaranteed for all four years. The Four-Year Guarantee will award an incoming student anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000 per year, based on cumulative high school GPA for new freshmen and college GPA for transfer students. The amount awarded upon admission is renewable for the next three years, meaning a student could receive a total award ranging from $4,000 to $28,000. Furthermore, students who boast both a high GPA and outstanding ACT or SAT scores will be eligible for the premium President’s and Dean’s Scholarships. These scholarships award students $32,000 to $36,000 over the course of four years. “PUC is changing the way we award our scholarships so that right up front students will know that PUC is giving them substantial financial help,” says Scott Callender, PUC’s director of marketing and enrollment. “The fact that they’re renewable will also make it easier for families to plan financially for the future.” In addition to the Four-Year Guarantee, PUC is...

Business department chair Wally Lighthouse spoke to a group of over 60 Rotarians and guests at the December 9 meeting of the Napa Sunrise Rotary Club. The group meets at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, Calif. His talk, entitled “Economic Forecast 2011,” was well received by the enthusiastic attendees. Lighthouse discussed next year’s outlook in areas such as employment, retirement and debt trends, tax policy and inflation. “He was very informative,” said Doris Gentry, the club’s public relations officer. “[It was] a heavy topic but important to all of us.”...

Last school year REVO PUC, an annual student-run awareness and fundraising event, raised over $5,000 to help combat podoconiosis, a debilitating foot condition that is especially prevalent in Ethiopia. Last month those donations reached the African nation and are already making a difference. According to a recent letter from the Tropical Health Alliance Foundation, REVO’s partner on the project, over 2,000 Ethiopians are currently receiving treatment for the disease and 7,000 pairs of shoes have been donated in a matching program by TOMS Shoes, thanks in part to the student efforts at PUC. Students involved with REVO spend much of the year planning a major event each spring, to benefit a special philanthropy project chosen each year. The event raises funds through student donations and a sale of donated goods. It also generates awareness for the chosen issue through an all-year publicity campaign and a variety of smaller events throughout the school year. In addition to the funds raised by REVO, PUC also hosted a visitor participation booth at last summer’s Seventh-day Adventist General Conference session in Atlanta, Ga. Visitors to the booth allocated over $1,300 in additional funding to go toward the project. “It goes to show you how...

Ever since Rayna Duran was young she has had a great passion for wanting to help people, but prior to joining the Make-A-Wish Foundation she didn’t know how to put her passion to actions. There were two events that helped Duran solidify her future for helping people. The first was seeing a movie called My Sister’s Keeper, about a young girl’s terminal illness and how it affects her family. “This movie cut me to the core and I was able to safely say I wanted to work with children in the hospital and volunteer my time to help them out,” said Duran, a junior business major at Pacific Union College. The second event was a Jonas Bothers concert she attended. “I respect them very much for their ability to stand strong for what they believe in,” said Duran. “Nick Jonas sang a song, ‘A Little Bit Longer’ which was a song about his diabetes and also to inspire young children who are having a difficult time medically that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” The movie and concert had such a profound effect on Duran that she knew God was showing her the path that he...

Two PUC biology students presented new cancer research at a conference of the American Association of Cancer Research November 6 to 11 in Philadelphia, Penn. Juniors Peter Han and Robert Frey have been studying the effects of an herbal extract on cancer cells—a project that afforded them an opportunity to participate in their first major scientific conference. “It helped us understand what academic science is all about,” said Han. “It’s about collaboration—you can’t do it by yourself; you need a base.” According to the preliminary research that Han and Frey presented, an orally administered extract of the herb plantago major inhibited pre-cancerous cells in lab mice, and also induced a self-destructive function called apoptosis in cancerous cells. The team plans to continue their research into the topic and eventually present a formal paper for peer review. If research continues to support these early findings, this new information could impact future cancer treatment—especially as patients attempt to avoid harsher treatments like chemotherapy. This area of study is especially significant to Han and Frey, both of whom are considering medical school after they complete their undergraduate studies. “Going into the health care field, we’re going to have to know the newest treatments...