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Meet PUC’s 2023-2024 Student Association President: Kaitlyn Nakanishi

Posted by Ally Romanes on March 15, 2024

Senior Kaitlyn Nakanishi has previously been a member of the Student Association at Pacific Union College. With a deep love for the college, she wanted to help make a difference in student’s social life following the COVID-19 pandemic where so many students were online and campus culture vanished. Motivated by that feeling, she ran for Student Association president last school year and has been serving that role since the start of the 2023-2024 academic year. Nakanishi believes the most important part of her role is facilitating discussions between the administration and students. “I want to ensure that PUC continues to be student-centered because that is what initially made me fall in love with this school,” she shared. Being SA president involves many meetings and conversing with different students, which she enjoys. Another important part is ensuring that the many operations of SA run smoothly, providing students with safe spaces to grow socially and spiritually. She loves her SA team and feels blessed to be surrounded by such talented and hardworking individuals.SA executive Vice President Olivia Brown provides Nakanishi with fantastic support; they are often sounding boards for each other. They have had many long talks in their shared office, and...

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In Service and Faith: The Inspiring Journeys of Two Couples in Adventist Education

Posted by Laura Gang on March 14, 2024

For more than 140 years, Pacific Union College has been a pillar of education, preparing and supporting students for lives of service and leadership. Many alumni have embarked on remarkable journeys of faith and service, particularly as teachers. Among those educators are two couples who stand out as examples of the enduring impact of Seventh-day Adventist education and mission. In addition to their shared beginnings at PUC and a deep commitment to their faith, these couples have embraced their roles as educators, shaping hearts and minds with a passion driven by their faith in God and an unwavering dedication to excellence. Both couples expressed gratitude to PUC for giving them a strong educational foundation. They attributed their success as teachers to the guidance and mentorship of numerous professors, especially those in the education department, who supported them academically and spiritually.Matt and Kim Bennie work at Redlands Adventist Academy, where they take their responsibility as educators seriously. Each day, they strive to instill a love of Christ in their students.“My hope is that students feel God’s love and embrace their true identity of being children of God,” Matt said. “As students create in the classroom, we can connect all lessons back...

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PUC on Broadway: Bringing People Together

Posted by Ally Romanes on March 13, 2024

From February 3-4, PUC on Broadway was showcased at St. Helena High School Performing Arts Center. People braved the winter weather to watch, but the cast believed it was well worth it. PUC on Broadway is the product of people coming together to try something new. The show was a production where performers sang songs from different Broadway musicals. Where a musical has one cohesive plot–they took Broadway songs and put them out of context. This musical show is the brainchild of PUC’s Student Association President Kaitlyn Nakanishi. Just two weeks after the Jericho Road musical showcased at the college campus, she put up posters advertising auditions. She invited PUC student Leila Beltran as co-director to help choose songs, coach the performers, and be the musical director. From there, they hit the ground running and created the program. Nakanishi was the co-director, producer, and choreographer for PUC on Broadway. She choreographed every single movement and production of the show. Ronnie Zanella, a PUC music professor, and Mika Palitang, a junior biology and music major, were their accompanists; with Jeremy Hadley and his team as the sound and lighting crew.They held auditions two weeks before Thanksgiving break, had rehearsals in between Thanksgiving...

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America in Crisis: Dwight Nelson’s Message of Warning and Hope Amid Division and Threats to Religious Liberty

Posted by Laura Gang on March 12, 2024

Dwight Nelson, the longtime Seventh-day Adventist pastor of the Pioneer Memorial Church, recently retired after 40 years there. Yet, retirement hasn’t dimmed his passion. Instead, he is focused on living on the brink of eternity, the soon return of Jesus, and the undeniable challenges facing America—specifically, religious liberty and the dangerous rise of Christian nationalism.“I’m grateful to be coming to PUC—because I believe young adults are the strategic key to waking America up to this critical moment in history,” Nelson said in an interview. “We as a nation are fractured on practically every level of life and culture—racially, spiritually, economically, politically, socially—and I’m convinced the young are God’s essential endgame move to bring healing to America.”On March 1-2, Pacific Union College hosted the Northern California Conference’s (NCC) annual Religious Liberty Summit. The event centered on three powerful messages from Nelson and breakout workshops featuring several prominent presenters, including two Superior Court judges, a community organizer, the chief of staff for a California state senator, and a historian. The weekend event culminated in a panel discussion, fostering thought-provoking conversations on pressing religious liberty issues.NCC has sponsored religious liberty events for several years—three annually on this vital cause. These include the spring...

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PUC Gains Approval to Expand Nursing Program to Sonora

Posted by Laura Gang on March 4, 2024

Pacific Union College recently announced that it received state approval for a new nursing training partnership with Adventist Health Sonora. The PUC education center will further the college's goals of growing its nursing program and help meet the rising need for highly qualified healthcare professionals in the Tuolumne County area. “In order to expand nursing education to rural areas, hospitals must partner with nursing schools,” said Kimberly Dunker, dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences at PUC. “Because of the long-standing history between our Adventist organizations, we are able to not only partner but share the same values and beliefs for nursing education and talent acquisition.”The Associate Degree of Nursing (ADN) program will be open to Adventist Health employees and prospective students in the area looking to move into the nursing field. Pre-nursing classes will begin in April. The nursing program will commence in September.The California Board of Registered Nurses (BRN) and the Education Licensing Committee (ELC) approved the addition of 18 students to PUC’s nursing program at the Sonora site. This hard-won achievement results from a two-year collaborative effort by PUC and Adventist Health to establish a new nursing education center in an underserved area. Though California will...

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