2015

As elementary and junior high schools across the nation are letting out for summer, motivated students are already planning for the return to school. From July 19 to 24, Pacific Union College’s PacificQuest program will provide an opportunity for these eager students to experience college life at a special camp designed for them and their gifted peers. PacificQuest (PQ) is a one-week residential summer experience where motivated students who completed grades 6, 7, or 8 in 2015 will live on-campus, learn from current PUC professors, and spend time with fellow high-achieving junior high students! Campers will explore college-level coursework and receive one hour of college credit for their work. Sylvia Rasi Gregorutti, chair of the department of modern languages, will teach the PQ core class this summer. In “L’italiano per tutti! A Taste of Italian Language & Culture” students will learn about the beauty of Italy’s language and culture and consider their own ethnolinguistic repertoire. PQ campers also have the opportunity to select an elective course, as well as participate in a myriad of recreation options with students who become friends that share a love for learning. To qualify for PacificQuest, students should have achievement test scores of at least...

Pacific Union College has selected the recipients of the 2015 prestigious Maxwell Scholarship. The scholarship rewards incoming freshmen for high academic achievement, a commitment to Christian service, and outstanding leadership experience with $15,000 in annually renewable funding—$60,000 each over the course of four years at PUC. These students comprise the seventh group recognized by PUC’s 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. For the 2015-2016 academic year, the Maxwell Scholar Program selected as their finalists Andrew Caster, Sam Delaware, JoAnn Johnson, Laurel Kwon and Morgan Rogers. Andrew Caster, a senior at Loma Linda Academy, is a well-rounded individual whose hard work is evident in all that he does. According to principal Robert Skoretz, Andrew “represents that quintessential blend of academic excellence, extracurricular breadth, service and leadership.” Complimenting his outstanding academic record, he has served in multiple leadership roles, including campus ministries director and co-leader of the school’s daily worship team. A gifted and talented musician, Andrew is the principal...

The Pacific Union College family lost a cherished student, devoted friend, and adventurous spirit this past weekend. Senior communication major Jayaram Notestine died in an automobile accident on Butts Canyon Road near Lake Berryessa Estates in Napa County around 10 p.m. Friday, May 22. Jayaram was one of two men in the vehicle. Ernest Crain, 54, of Angwin, also died in the crash. The accident remains under investigation by the Napa County Sheriff's Office. “Jayaram was a sweet, kind, friendly and thoughtful soul,” says Michelle Rai, chair of the department of communication and Jayaram’s advisor. “His smile could light up a room. He had an adventurous spirit and was an avid, extreme bike rider. He loved his family and friends and treasured growing up in Angwin where he could enjoy being out in nature.” Jayaram was preparing to graduate this June with a B.S in Communication: Communication Studies emphasis. “He was looking forward to starting a new chapter in his life and seeing where the Lord would lead him in his professional and personal life,” says Rai. “We are devastated by the tragic loss of our dear student Jayaram Notestine,” says Lisa Bissell Paulson, vice president for student services. “He...

Back by popular demand, musician and orator David Anthony Johnson returned to PUC’s Colloquy Speakers Series on April 30. Johnson, an alumnus of Oakwood University, has won multiple awards during his 30-year musical career, and has shared the stage with many names of note, including Rosa Parks, Johnnie Cochran, Maya Angelou, Take 6, Brian McKnight, Julian Bond, and others. Johnson’s Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Colloquy on January 8 featured his oration talent, imitating the style and manner of the eloquent equal rights activist. This time, however, Johnson spoke as himself, his speech entitled, “The Greatest of These.” After President Heather J. Knight introduced Johnson, he began by singing a song called “Ordinary People.” Johnson then shared his story of when he was a probation corrections officer in San Bernardino County. Johnson explained that in this role, he didn’t want to come across as soft, so he tried to hide his Christian faith from the inmates and the rest of the officers. “I tried to do everything that the world would do,” he said, as he explained that his “tough” act was only a false front. Johnson said he realized his pride was not allowing him to minister to the...

As part of the biennial Pacific Union College Heubach Lectureship series, Kendra Haloviak Valentine, Ph.D. will present a lecture entitled “God on the Move: The First Gospel and the Advent Movement” in Angwin on Saturday, May 30, at 4:00 p.m. Valentine is an associate professor of New Testament studies at the H.M.S. Richards Divinity School at La Sierra University in Riverside, California. She has published in journals, magazines, and books. Recent publications include “The Book of Revelation” in The Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics (2011), Signs to Life: Reading and Responding to John’s Gospel (2013, and Worlds at War, Nations in Song (2015). The lecture will take place in Paulin Hall Auditorium on the Pacific Union College campus. Admission is free. For more information, please call the PUC office of public relations at (707) 965-6303....

Pacific Union College’s alumni family numbers over 26,000 people, and each individual makes an important impact in their own community. Each year, Honored Alumni awards are given to graduates who demonstrate the best of this Pioneer Spirit. Though they finished their college experience in different generations, each Honored Alumnus had something central in common: a passion for answering God’s call to be a light in the world. On April 17 to 19, 2015, alumni and friends of Pacific Union College gathered at “Our College on the Mountain” in Angwin, Calif., for a special and unique Homecoming Weekend recognizing the trails of service blazed by the many dedicated graduates of Pacific Union College. During a weekend full of special events, eight individuals were recognized for their exemplary service with Honored Alumni and Honored Pioneer awards at a Friday evening dinner in their honor. The 2015 Honored Pioneer recipient was Adu Worku, M.A., M.S.L.S. Worku received the award, which is given to a non-graduate for exceptional service to the college, in recognition of his exceptional dedication to the power and freedom of education. The director of library services at PUC since 1985, Worku’s path to the Nelson Memorial Library began in northwest...

A group of Pacific Union College students enrolled in the Film & Television program traveled to La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif., for the annual SONscreen Film Festival on April 2-4, 2015. Students stayed busy by attending workshops, viewing film screenings, and meeting talented students from other Adventist colleges and universities as well as industry professionals. At the awards ceremony that wrapped up the festival, PUC’s own Mark Soderblom won the Jury Selection Award for his film The Pilot. PUC represented the largest group attending the festival with a total of 30 students. The 2015 SONscreen not only had keynote lectures and film screenings, but a mini-movie challenge as well. The students had a strict two-hour time limit to shoot and edit a film in teams. Featured speakers included Rik Swartzswelder, director and costar of Old Fashioned, and Jason Sutterland, director of The Record Keeper. In addition to the lectures, the professionals also held Q&A sessions with the students. Winning the Jury Selection Award was an “exciting moment for PUC,” said Soderblom, a sophomore. Soderblom’s documentary, shot entirely on his iPhone, is a showcases his brother and fellow PUC student Bryan Soderblom. Like many other students, Bryan was unsure of...

During the 2015 tax season, students in PUC’s Individual Taxation class put their knowledge to practical use on a community service project. 22 PUC students went to the Up Valley Family Center in St. Helena to help people earning less than $53,000 prepare their tax returns. Because of this collaboration between the college and the Up Valley Family Centers, these students were able to not only put classroom theory into actual practice, but were also helping the community in a tangible way. Professor of Business Administration Rodney Hardcastle introduced the service-learning project to his Individual Taxation class last year, and the results warranted the program be revisited this year as well. “PUC has been very fortunate to be able to forge a partnership with the St. Helena and Calistoga Family Centers to provide the community with free tax preparation services,” says Hardcastle. “The Family Centers provide this fantastic service to low-income taxpayers while PUC students taking the Individual Income Tax course are fortunate to be able to gain real life experience with individual income tax preparation.” From 2014 to 2015, the number of student participants nearly doubled. The students participated in a program called Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)—a free...

Junior Laura Helms, Senior Daniel Moore, and Senior Carlo Péan presented original work to the international Sigma Tau Delta conference March 18-21. The group travelled to the conference in Albuquerque New Mexico with Professor of English Maria Rankin-Brown. The three English majors submitted papers to the English honors society earlier in the school year. About 30 to 40 percent of the total submissions were accepted to the student conference, during which process each piece underwent review by several experienced readers, usually college professors. Those whose work was accepted to the conference then had the option to travel to the international convention to present the piece in front of a specialized panel. Rankin-Brown mentioned that in the eight years she’s been at PUC, no one from PUC has attended the conference. This year, the PUC delegates represented not only the college, but also Sigma Tau Delta’s Western region, as the West Coast had the fewest attendees to this year’s conference. In addition to the students’ presentations, the PUC representatives were recognized at the conference award ceremony and received a commemorative plaque congratulating the PUC Alpha Delta Delta chapter for its 20-year anniversary. Rankin-Brown was one of the founding officers of the...

Stanley G. Payne is a respected historian, prolific author, and one of the leading authorities on the study of modern Spain and European fascism. On April 21, Payne will give a lecture as the Walter C. Utt Visiting Scholar. The free public lecture in Scales Chapel, entitled “Secular Religion and Millennialism in the Modern Age,” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Everybody has heard of politicized religion, which might show up in mild forms, such as the “social gospel” and the “religious right,” or in more virulent forms, including Muslim terrorist movements. But what about the opposite—“religionized” politics? Payne will be examining those political movements that “transpose millennial longings to seek to create a kind of utopia on earth.” Payne graduated from Pacific Union College in 1955 with a degree in history; inspired by PUC Professor Walter C. Utt, Ph.D., Payne pursued the life of an academic, taking his master’s at Claremont University. After receiving his doctorate at Columbia University, Payne shared his considerable knowledge as a lecturer and professor at multiple universities, including Columbia, Hunter, UCLA, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he retired as Professor Emeritus in 2005. Payne has written over 20 books, as well as many...