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Pacific Union College has been named a “Healthiest Company” by the North Bay Business Journal for the second time. The college received the award for its commitment to promoting wellness and an active lifestyle among its employees. PUC first received the “Healthiest Company” award in 2012, and continues to encourage employees to focus on health and happiness while expanding wellness program opportunities. The Business Journal gathered nominations over the summer and through September, finally settling on 21 companies and organizations that were honored on November 13 at the Journal’s 2013 Health Care Conference. The conference and special issue of the Journal draw attention to the “outstanding efforts of businesses across the North Bay in the critical movement toward wellness.” The companies selected for the award ranged from construction, education, banking, and technology; the healthiest companies were selected after a nomination and company survey process. “Millions of people spend at least half of their waking hours at work, so it makes perfect sense to make healthy choices a part of the workplace culture,” said Brad Bollinger, editor and associate publisher of the Business Journal. “The workplace wellness movement is unstoppable and is really a necessity if, as a society, we are...

Since the age of 10, Pacific Union College freshmanSpencer Swetnam dreamed of competing in the world championships of his favoritesport. On November 2, his dream came true as he traveled to Taipei-City, Taiwan to compete in the 2013 Artistic Roller Skating WorldChampionships.Swetnam and his partner Katelyn Rodgersrepresented the United States on the world stage in the team dance category. “Theworld championships are as high as the sport of artistic roller skating gets,”said Swetnam. “It is not in the Olympics for one main reason: Most people donot know about it.” Artistic roller skating is much like figure skating on ice,but with roller skates. The sport combines a careful balance of position,strength, and artistry in a single performance.A 2013 graduate of Portland Adventist Academy, Swetnamspent much of his senior year traveling to Boston to meet with Rodgers as theyprepared for the National Championship held in Albuquerque, New Mexico fromJuly 21 to August 4, 2013. The pair competed in the Junior World Class TeamDance Division. This division requires three components: two compulsory danceswith specific dances and steps, an original dance with a routine danced to arequired genre of music, and the free dance which allows the skaters to danceto any song of their...

After finishing 3rd in league play in the California Pacific Conference, Pacific Union College’s Pioneers women’s volleyball team completed their season at the Cal Pac playoffs. The Pioneers fell to Menlo College on Friday, November 15. Menlo College would go on to defeat La Sierra and head to the National Tournament. After the playoff match, three lady Pioneers and their head coach Brittany Brown were honored with Cal Pac Conference Awards. In a highly competitive conference, the lady Pioneers received the most conference honors in program history. Leading the Cal Pac with 584 digs, senior libero Lauren Secchitano was named to the California Pacific All Conference 1st Team and received the 2013 Conference Libero of the Year Award. Setter Kailey Faust and outside Viridiana Gallardo were also named to the California Pacific Conference 2nd Team. Faust led the Pioneers with an impressive 884 assists and 112 digs. Gallardo led with 245 kills, and was second on the team in digs with 345 throughout the season. “Lauren Secchitano, Viridiana Gallardo, and Kailey Faust have all worked hard this season, and with the help of their dedicated teammates have earned this honor,” stated Brown. “All of these athletes and this entire team...

On Saturday, November 11, actor and producer Brian Yang screened the documentary Linsanity at Pacific Union College. The film profiles the career of NBA player Jeremy Lin from his high school years in Palo Alto to Harvard and then on to the National Basketball Association (NBA). Yang, a film and television actor who has been on the network show Hawaii Five-O, took time after the film to answer questions from the students and community members in the crowd. “The film goes back in time from humble beginnings to his rise to the top,” Yang said in his introduction of the documentary. “The message you’ll come away with is an inspirational story for all types of people.” Yang described the film as the “true, full backstory” of the many years of hard work and failure that Lin endured before his moment of success. Yang and his partners began filming three years ago when Lin was playing basketball for Harvard University. Though Yang and his partners first planned to create a small web series, Lin “rewrote the end of the story” when he was picked up by the New York Knicks and began playing at an amazing level. While the film profiles...

Pacific Union College began the 2013-2014 school year with the highest enrollment in 24 years. On October 14, the college’s census date, total enrollment stood at 1,678, an increase of 62 students over the 1,616 students at this time last year. The college realized both an increase of new students and growth in retention. Enrollment is the highest it has been since 1989, when the exact same number of students, 1,678, attended PUC. Significantly, the college saw an increase of 89 students attending PUC on the Angwin campus. There are currently 1,610 people pursuing degrees at PUC’s destination campus in the Napa Valley. “We are delighted to have many more students on campus and pray that each student will truly thrive at PUC,” shares Lisa Bissell Paulson, vice president for student services and dean of students. “We are already experiencing such a strong campus climate as students get involved in spiritual and social life! Student participation is amazing and we look for opportunities to continue to enrich the student experience at PUC.” A remarkable jump in new students fueled the enrollment increase. PUC was blessed to have 503 new students join the student body. The freshman and transfer students were...