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The usual fair weather and crowds of well-wishers signaled the 2010 commencement weekend, starting on Friday evening, June 11. Graduates, 290 in all, were honored and recognized in various ways throughout the weekend and received 305 degrees on Sunday, June 13. The weekend began with the Friday evening Consecration Service in the church sanctuary, featuring music, a class video, class remembrance, and speaker Bradley Gienger, a religion major of the Class of 2010 who's headed next to Andrews University for his Master of Divinity degree. Gienger also recognized religion professor Jimmy Ha, who passed away from cancer last month, and students Boaz Pak and Chong Shin, who died in 2008 in a car accident and would have been graduating with this class. On Sabbath, a professor and four senior class officers offered "Reflections" for Sabbath School and speaker Jose Rojas presented the sermon at the Baccalaureate Service. Rojas is the Director of the Office of Volunteer Ministries for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists. He's also a musician, author, and preacher and has assisted two United States presidents with domestic policy initiatives for humanitarian leadership. His topic for the sermon was "You are the Salt of the Earth." The...

"Taking Haiti Home," young filmmaker Tim Wolfer's first major production, tells a story from on the ground in a post-earthquake Haitian orphanage called La Maison des Enfants de Dieu. Wolfer was in the middle of the school year as a film and television student at Pacific Union College when the earthquake hit Haiti. Wolfer posted a note on Facebook asking who would sponsor him to go to Haiti… and packed his bags. Now, people often ask him why that was his response. "I honestly don't know," he says. Wolfer had the background for such an adventure, though: He's filmed internationally for humanitarian projects, starting about two years ago when Maranatha Volunteers International, a non-profit that coordinates construction of urgently needed buildings, invited him to do film work in Mozambique. He's also done film work for the Seventh-day Adventist World Church as well as small non-profits, taking him to four countries in Africa, a couple in South America, and Bangladesh. So eight hours later when an anonymous donor funded Wolfer and a friend's flight, it wasn't entirely outside his realm of experience. "All those other experiences helped me build up to this one," Wolfer says. Four days later they were on...

For photographers at all levels, Pacific Union College's summer classes at the Albion Field Station provide a rare opportunity for plein-air photography, complete with family-friendly lodging and dining at the field station. The classes run July 11-23 and are taught by Marlow Burgess and Gilbert Muth, offering one- or two-week sessions with three different "tracks" for different areas or levels of skill. The course can be taken for college credit. Participants in the classes are lodged in the cabins at the field station, and meals are provided at the station cafeteria. To learn more about the sessions and amenities, visit www.puc.edu/albion. To make reservations, call 707-937-5440....

On May 27 at an all-school colloquy program at Pacific Union College, history professor Ileana Douglas was awarded the 2010-2011 Educator of the Year award. Known as the "best mother on campus," Douglas is widely appreciated both for her teaching enthusiasm and her personal interactions with students. "As a colleague you have enriched our department… and you have also opened your heart and home," said history chair Paul McGraw. Douglas earned her B.A. from the University of Puerto Rico and master's degrees from New York University and the Center for Advanced Studies of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and has completed further graduate studies at the University of Valladolid, Spain. She's been an elementary and middle school teacher, college professor, academic department chair, and academic dean and vice president. Each speaker noted Douglas's teaching energy, passion, and positive outlook. "She's so positive it can even seem that sometimes there is only one answer in her classroom… Yes, or yes," said senior history major Jonathan Pichot. "I think the word 'yes' has something to do with the way she lives her life. Yes is a happy word, full of hope. It's an accepting word… An optimistic word." Brittany Kohler, a history...

In a mini political series at Pacific Union College in May, the communication department invited the three candidates running for Napa County District 3 Supervisor to speak on campus during three different lunch hours. District 3 is the region in which the college is located, and candidates and campus people alike have an increased interest in how Angwin plays into local politics following land issues of recent years. Students became interested in meeting the candidates after one, Michael Haley, spoke to professor Michelle Rai's fundraising class about the challenges in political fundraising and organizing a campaign. Rai decided to invite Haley back for a noon hour devoted specifically to his candidacy and issues in Napa County as well as inviting the other two candidates to give their own noon-hour presentations and question-and-answer sessions. "I felt the political series would be valuable because I wanted the campus to have the chance to get to know these candidates on a more personal level than just newspaper articles or promotional mailers," says Rai, who notes that these candidates have a direct relationship to Angwin and the college. "Since the District 3 Supervisor represents Angwin, it seemed only natural that PUC would want to...

Every year, a group of students heads to the State Capitol armed with new knowledge about the legislative project, passionate about a cause, and ready for real-world experience with social justice. Last year's project was geared toward emancipating foster youth in the transition from the child welfare system; this year's focused on forgotten veterans. At the head of this project is social work professor Fiona Bullock, who asks students in her Social Welfare Policy and Contemporary Social Issues class to work on a legislative project focusing on individuals, families, groups, or communities in need. She has them learn about the legislative process a bill passes through in order to present an educational meeting on campus, become familiar with a specific current bill, and take on a worthy causes so they can get first-hand experience with social justice. "It shows the class (and other students from the department) how accessible government is to them and that apathy is NOT acceptable," Bullock says. She also finds that it gives the students a chance to make valuable community connections, "to network with other community agencies and consumers impacted by the legislation and to partnership for change." This year's project was inspired when two...

The Pacific Union College faculty members have been busy pursuing goals of higher learning even as they encourage undergraduate students to do the same. At the annual Faculty Awards Colloquy this spring, about 20 were recognized for scholarly activities this year. Six of these were presented the Herber award for faculty development, three were presented the Meritorious Service Awards for outstanding contributions to PUC's mission, and two were extended congratulations for completing doctorates in 2009-2010. Many of these faculty members receiving awards or recognition have enlisted student help in their projects. Brian Wong, a professor of biology and a recipient of the Herber Award, was recognized for a research poster session he worked on with several of his students, entitled “Chinese medicinal herb Oldenlandia diffusa inhibits Azoxymethane-induced aberrant crypt foci in C57BL/6 mice and modulates apoptosis in mice and in human colon cancer cells.” A few of the faculty were recognized for their artistic endeavors. Cheryl Daley, a fine arts instructor in PUC's visual arts department, had a recent artwork, "Magnolia Boxes," shown in the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. John McDowell, a professor in the English department, had a poem, "Blue" and artwork, "Alarm," both featured in Spectrum Magazine....

Early this week Pacific Union College announced the winners of its prestigious and recently established Maxwell Scholar Program. The five winners and five semi-finalists, coming from as far apart as Maryland and California, have been selected for their high academic achievement, a commitment to Christian service, and outstanding leadership skills. The $15,000 renewable scholarship means winners receive up to $60,000 in scholarship funds over the course of their four years at PUC. These students constitute the second group recognized by the Maxwell Scholar Program, which was established at PUC in 2009 to recognize the late Malcolm and Eileen Maxwell, former president and first lady of PUC. Applicants must meet GPA and test-score requirements and the ranking of their applications is based on resumes, an essay, and letters of recommendation. The Maxwell Scholars who have been awarded this scholarship for the 2010/2011 academic year are Matthew Dopp of Oceanside, Calif., an Escondido Adventist Academy student; Newbury Park Adventist Academy student Josue Tobar of Palmdale, Calif.; Dustin Davis, a Paradise Adventist Academy student from Paradise, Calif; Shenandoah Valley Academy student Meena Kim of Falls Church, Virginia; and Alesha Heinz from Martinez, Calif., who graduated from Capstone Academy. Each of these sport long...

In April, Pacific Union College biology professor Brian Wong and two of his students traveled to Washington, D.C., for the 2010 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) general meeting. Wong is known for his on-going research into cancer prevention, and proficient biology students have the opportunity to work with him as assistants. This year, Wong and student co-authors Christal Nishikawa, Brian Kim, Jeeyon Jung, Alyssa Zima, and Lucas Kim had two research posters accepted at the conference. Wong, Nishikawa, and Lucas Kim traveled to the conference in person to attend seminars and present their research. The two posters, with Wong as first author on one and Nishikawa as first author on the other, show research on the cancer prevention properties of two Chinese medicinal herbs against colon cancer formation in mouse and human cells. Wong, Nishikawa, and Kim presented in the large exhibit area with other researchers, explaining their findings. Nishikawa appreciated the opportunity to attend the conference. "It was a great experience getting to listen to speakers talk about cutting-edge research on cancer," she says. "I realize that I am very privileged to go to these meetings as an undergraduate." Lucas Kim began working with Wong at the beginning...

From April 21 to 25, sixteen psychology majors and four professors from Pacific Union College took a short, mid-term break to attend the Western Psychological Association (WPA) convention in Cancun, Mexico. At the convention sponsored by Psi Chi, the national honor society of psychology, the students presented two posters, met recruiters from graduate schools, and even listened to PUC alum Cara Tan give a symposium, all while enjoying the tropical sun and the beautiful beach of their hotel. "Cancun was beautiful and awesome, but it was also a very good learning experience," says sophomore Jessica Cerda. "It was really important that the professors in our department really encouraged this." Last year, these students took a lab for their child development class, in which they were assigned articles and instructed to conduct research on them. For both groups, the findings were significant. Because of their results, the professors urged them to submit an application to present at WPA. After sending in an abstract, they were accepted, and the process of perfecting their presentation began. At WPA, Cerda and her fellow group members presented their research on the effect of ethnic awareness on job association, while the other group presented their study...