Larry Pena, September 29, 2009

Kenia Ledezma is very far from home. She was the only student to come to PUC this year from Sandia View Academy, a small Adventist school in her hometown of Corrales, New Mexico. And it must be a jarring transition to find herself in California's mountainous vine country from the small desert farming town where she grew up.

But if she's homesick, she's managing it well. Just a few days on campus, the 18-year-old is already making plans for the coming year. "I like the setting, the nature," she says. "It seems like this is a place where you can do a lot of things, like hiking." She's also planning to participate in as many intramural sports as she can and hopes to join PUC's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) organization.

Kenia was drawn to PUC by the cafeteria's sustainable menu, and the college's reputation as a nursing school. As a future nurse, she's not sure if she wants to specialize, but she is thinking about eventually becoming a nurse practitioner. She also hopes to someday use her nursing degree as an international missionary. While at PUC, she also hopes to spend a little time in San Francisco.

She has also been hired as a caller for Phonathon, the Alumni and Advancement office's annual donation drive. The campaign begins in October, and Kenia is one of several new students who will be reaching out to alumni and other potential donors on behalf of her new school.

But in the meantime, Kenia's just settling in to the mountain. The residential staff at Winning Hall is making the transition relatively easy. So far so good," she says. "Everyone, like the RAs, are really friendly." Hopefully this long-distance transplant will come to see PUC as a new home.