2004

It’s 9:30 in the evening, and a gaggle of girls are gathered in the Winning dorm room of their PacificQuest counselor. They’ve just finished up an evening worship, and now they’re enthusiastically eating crackers and chocolate chip cookies and discussing the characters on a TV show. One traipses down the hall to her own room, saying, “I think I’m going to go to bed now.” Another goes in search of an ice machine, while a third tries to figure out whether she can use the computer in the parlor to do research for her political science presentation tomorrow. “ There’s root beer in my room,” announces a fourth. Meanwhile, over in Newton, the boys are up late with a long-lasting game of Mafia. Every summer PacificQuest gives about 25 academically advanced 7th to 9th graders a chance to explore some college-level courses and to earn one college credit. Though evenings at this year’s annual PacificQuest were laid-back, students were kept plentifully busy during the day with their political science, chemistry, and computer art classes, interspersed with meals and recreation time. In this year’s political science class, taught by the history department’s Paul McGraw, the students explored major issues of the...

It’s a Tonka aficionado’s dream come true as tons of earthmoving trucks and vehicles clear space in between the Physical Plant and the farm for the new cogeneration plant. PUC received an $11 million dollar loan to build the plant that will hopefully save the college money. The plant will allow PUC to produce its own electricity and avoid paying the ever-increasing California electricity bills. ...

Kristy Nakamitsu, sophomore setter for Pacific Union College, was announced the NAIA Region II Setter of the Week, September 14. Nakamitsu, a 5’4” athlete who hails from Mililani, Hawaii, is a 2003 graduate of Mililani High School. In 3 matches last week (all wins), Nakamitsu averaged 10.58 assists, 1.08 digs and 0.50 aces per game as PUC jumped out to a 3-0 start. In a 4-game win over Walla Walla College (Wash.), she had 41 assists, 3 kills and 3 digs. In a sweep of West Coast Baptist, she had 44 assists, 4 digs, 2 kills and 2 aces. She closed the week with 42 assists, 3 kills, 4 aces and 6 digs in a 5-game win over La Sierra University. ...

With dreams of wider horizons pushed aside, many licensed vocational nurses work hard to support themselves and their families. Though filling positions with limited breadth and little expansion opportunity, these LVNs can’t spare the time or money to return to school in pursuit of the opportunities and recognition that come with licensure as a registered nurse. For several groups of such LVNs, the Pacific Union College nursing department has committed to fulfilling dreams. At the request of Hanford Community Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, and Ukiah Valley Medical Center, PUC has established extended-campus LVN-to-RN programs specifically for the working adult. “ The program is a huge commitment for students,” says nursing instructor Debbie Winkle, who oversees the extended-campus programs. “The students are all very motivated and focused. This is something they want so badly. For many, it’s the only opportunity to increase their nursing education.” The program at the Travis Air Force Base has provided new experiences for the nursing department, with some of their students being deployed to Iraq. “They have life-changing experiences, no matter what their political views,” Winkle says. But always the highlight of these programs is dream fulfillment. “Many have waited and worked for 15...

Del Case, professor of music at Pacific Union College, performs on the Rieger organ on Saturday, Oct. 9, at 4 p.m. in the college’s church sanctuary. The recital marks the 23rd year of the Rieger organ in the sanctuary since its installation in 1981. Professor Del Case earned a D.M.A. from the University of Southern California. An active recitalist, Case was a third place winner in the Prague International Organ Competition in the Czech Republic. His numerous performances in West Coast churches include: the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Grace Cathedral and St. Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco, St. Mark’s Cathedral, and St. Joseph’s Cathedral in San Diego. He also performs in many colleges and universities, including Pacific Union College, where he plays the organ as part of church worship programs. ...

San Francisco artist Frank Born’s exhibit, Portraits, will have an opening reception on November 6 at Pacific Union College’s Rasmussen Art Gallery, from 7 to 9 p.m. The show, running through December 5, will consist of 24 portraits in oil on canvas and watercolor on paper. “ I have always felt that by looking at a face and painting what I saw,” says Born, “I could capture a portion of the interior life we each possess.” In recent years Born’s paintings have been exhibited in Japan, Chicago, and San Francisco, and he has been included in group exhibitions in North Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, California, and Japan....

The first rainstorm of the season carefully timed its debut to correspond with the annual PUC Parents’ Weekend. As wind scattered the water that seeped from low-hanging gray billows, a record number of parental guests flooded the campus to experience Dining Commons fare, a sprightly vespers, fine performances from the music department ensembles, a volleyball game, and a comedy improv program. Though the temperamental weather caused some re-thinking for the outdoors Sabbath lunch, it didn’t keep the parents out of the scene; they enthusiastically perused the Pirkle Jones show in the Rasmussen Art Gallery, participated in the highly popular improv program presented by BATS (Bay Area Theater Sports) in the Campus Center, and took advantage of college-hosted meals. A cheering sense of family pervaded the campus as new and “old” students puttered around with their parents and siblings....

In a program complete with bell-ringing, the school song, and a telephone conversation with a 99-year old gentleman, PUC celebrated its rich history in a special colloquy on October 21. Faculty and staff who were once PUC students gathered on the stage and led in an animated rendition of the PUC school song. Snippets of PUC history followed, along with a personal interview of president emeritus Malcolm Maxwell, a special music (also with historical significance), and religion professor Myron Widmer’s sharing about his journey, as a PUC student, from “an inherited religion” to “an owned religion.” One of the classic moments of the program was when President Dick Osborn made an on-stage phone call to Ray Fowler, the oldest living PUC president. Dr. Osborn experienced some confusion as to the dialing procedure; Dr. Maxwell went up to assist, and together the two presidents spent several moments intently trying to figure out how to make the call—while the student body enjoyed the moment fully! The ensuing conversation with Mr. Fowler was a pleasant conclusion to the incident. The colloquy program, which concluded with the ringing of the historic Healdsburg Bell, was coordinated by PUC student Morgan Wade, one of the college’s...

When a campus building makes students say, “This is so nice—can we just study in here for awhile?" you know you’ve done something right. And when just months ago that building was an old, ugly metal shed, you can’t help but think there’s been some sort of magic at work! It began with the vision of Pacific Union College’s Student Persistence Program leaders, who wanted to see the centralization of academic support services on campus. The dream was brought to possibility by the gift of Rosemary and John Collins, assistant professor of communication and vice president for financial administration, respectively. And transformation came through the magic (also known as hard work) of several months spent resurfacing walls and floors and doing extensive interior decorating. Now the building, called the Teaching and Learning Center (or TLC), has a modern, industrial chic motif that makes “Awesome!” the most common word for students to utter when they first walk in. The mission of the TLC, which provides such services as academic advising, mentoring, tutoring, freshman success seminars, and learning disabilities testing and accommodation, is “to see each PUC student able to persist toward his or her academic goal with confidence, and not to...

“I realize each day that teaching is my passion,” says Lauryn Wild, a PUC SM in Thailand – an impressive statement, considering that she has spent the first school term teaching spelling to 260 4th-6th graders and English to a 12th grade language class, in addition to working in the high school English department, grading papers for other teachers, and coaching the girls’ volleyball team! “I am really discovering that this year I will be stretched in so many ways as a teacher!” Lauryn admits. Meanwhile, she has been experiencing the Thai culture. “If there is one thing that I want to take back with me,” she says, “it is the feeling of complete peacefulness that can be found here in the middle of a busy city. Thai people have perfected the art of simply “being” and taking breaks to enjoy life’s small treasures.” On the other hand, Lauryn has found that some Thai parents create “an immense pressure cooker” for their children. “The parents here will push their kids so much, because they want them to be successful,” she explains. One day, Lauryn partnered up her 5th graders to work on spelling words. Noticing two boys struggling to work...