The Pacific Union College church was full to capacity for the college’s Convocation ceremony as PUC alumna and para-athlete Erica Davis encouraged the student body to set high goals for themselves and have determination and faith. Davis, who became paralyzed from the waist down soon after graduation, is an accomplished para-athlete and the first paraplegic woman to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. She now works with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, encouraging other athletes with disabilities to reach for their full potential. “There is always a way to figure it out and do something,” Davis said, referring to her determination as she tries new sports from rock climbing to open water jet skiing. “That’s why I don’t like the word can’t.” After sharing her lifelong passion with sports with the gathered faculty, staff, and students, Davis told the audience about the only race she has ever quit: a cross country running race she participated in as a PUC student, a decision she regrets to this day. She then recounted her recent experience at the Paratriathalon World Championships in rainy London; though the slick roads made moving her handcycle challenging and caused other racers to give up, Davis finished in the...

Over 175 students and sponsors from twenty-one academiescame to campus September 3-5, 2013, for PUC’s twenty-third PublicationWorkshop. The annual event is an opportunity for the staff of academyyearbooks, newspapers, and other publications to gain the knowledge andinspiration to plan and execute their best publications.John Osio, a teacher at Pine Hills Adventist Academy inAuburn, Calif., brought a group of yearbook students to the workshop. “Mystudents that attend always walk away with added excitements about elementsthey want to include or improve upon in our yearbook,” Osio explains. “PublicationWorkshop really provides them with those tools.”This year, twenty presenters taught over fifty sessions onvital publication skills. Students learned how to utilize design andphotography software; strengthen writing, design, and photography skills; andedit video yearbooks. Professionals from the publications industry, educators,college student leaders, and recent PUC graduates presented each session.Rajeev Sigamoney, an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter who recently wona $10,000 prize at the 2013 Sonscreen Film Festival, gave the keynote address. Sigamoneyis the director of PUC’s film and television program in the department ofvisual arts.“It isour hope that the Publication Workshop will provide these students withspiritual insight, leadership skills, and the knowledge they need to enhancetheir school publications,” shared workshop directors Milbert Mariano andPatrick Vogelpohl.The closing...

Pacific Union College’s department of advancement and alumni relations has welcomed new staff and set forth a new vision for connecting with PUC alumni and friends. Walter Collins, the recently appointed vice president for advancement and alumni relations, and the department have set forth a mission-minded strategic plan meant to serve and minister to the college’s constituents, including PUC’s 25,000-member alumni family. “We really see ourselves as a catalyst for connection, a catalyst for service, and a catalyst for mobilization,” shares Collins. A product of K-12 Adventist education who attended Conejo Adventist Elementary School and Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Collins received his B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. He most recently worked as executive director of the California Symphony Orchestra, during which time the orchestra received a National Endowment for the Arts award and doubled its number of donors. Previously, Collins was the president and CEO of United Way of the Wine Country, overseeing a three million dollar organization that was distinguished as the leading non-profit organization in Sonoma County, Calif. “I am simply delighted that Walter Collins has accepted our invitation to join the administrative team,” says PUC President Heather J. Knight. “His extensive experience in fundraising,...

On August 21, Service, Justice, and Missions CoordinatorFabio Maia and ten Pacific Union College students left for an eighteen-dayevangelism mission in Fiji with ShareHim and Quiet Hour Ministries. Eachstudent will be placed in a specific community where they will present thestory of Christ’s love and sacrifice each evening. Many of the students areactive in the college’s praise and worship teams and brought their instrumentsso they can share God’s love through music.Before the group departed, the students gathered inPresident Heather J. Knight’s office for a special blessing prayer led byPastor Mark Witas, the lead pastor of the PUC Church. Pastor Witas includedspecial prayer that God lead the group in doing good in His name. The group alsobonded by sharing a meal together before heading to the airport for theirflight to Fiji.For many PUC students, summer is the perfect opportunity todevote time to ministry and service. While some students work at summer campsor serve as literature evangelists, other groups get the experience of alifetime by sharing the gospel and serving local communities in places aroundthe world. The PUC community is invited to join in prayer for the team travellingto Fiji as well as other student groups currently on short-term mission tripsto Nicaragua...

This summer, the Pacific Union College Church welcomed its new lead pastor, Mark Witas, and pastor for family ministries, Wendy Witas, to the ministry team. Mark Witas will be officially installed as the new lead pastor Sept. 28, 2013. He delivered his first sermon at the PUC Church on June 22, 2013. A 27-year Church employee, Witas was most recently the lead pastor at the North Cascade Seventh-day Adventist Church in Mount Vernon, Wash. He has also served as a youth pastor, academy men’s dean, Bible teacher and chaplain for college and high school students. Witas has been a guest speaker for universities, academies, camp meetings, and special events worldwide. The author of “Born Chosen” and “Life Out Loud,” Witas’ new book, a youth devotional published by the Review and Herald Publishing Association, will be available in 2014. Witas holds a master of divinity degree from Andrews University, and completed his undergraduate degree in history and biblical studies at Seattle Pacific University. “God created me to teach and preach about His good character,” Witas says. “It's my joy to stand and deliver the good news about God each time we gather to worship in the PUC Church.” Wendy Witas is...