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When Pacific Union College alumna Patricia Thio began work on two particular documentary episodes for a TV program, she knew the stories were powerful—but she didn’t know the national and international recognition they’d bring. But lights, cameras, and congratulations rewarded Thio at this year’s Emmy Awards ceremony in San Diego, California. There, the Associate Director of PR Video Production at Loma Linda University won awards for two episodes she produced for the university’s documentary-style show, “Loma Linda 360º.” The episode “Armed for the Challenge” won in the documentary-cultural category, while “PossAbilities” was honored in the human-interest section. Thio adds the “winged woman” to a collection of other honors for “Armed for the Challenge,” including Best of Show from the Public Relations Society of America, Inland chapter, and six international film festival awards. Under Thio’s direction, “Armed for the Challenge” tells the story of Willie Stewart, an athlete whose loss of an arm has not stopped his athletic ambitions: He is training for the physically challenged triathlon USA championships. In addition, he also directs the PossAbilities outreach program at Loma Linda University Medical Center East Campus. This program offers community and activities for individuals with permanent physical injuries. In Thio's episode...

More attention has been given recently to the post-war lives of American soldiers, ranging from hit movies to efforts to educate troops and the general public about post traumatic stress. As this attention makes clear, the transition from army-man to the normal life is one that is not simple to execute. “It’s extremely frustrating to go from the battlefield to a civilian environment,” says Iraq veteran Adrian Avila. “The adjustment is really painful sometimes.” Unbeknownst to most, this is a transition that a number of students have had to face at Pacific Union College when they return to studies after military service. Avila, a senior at PUC, saw the need to help students like himself adjust, and he collaborated with social work professor Fiona Bullock start the PUC Veterans Club “to serve veterans’ needs on campus and in our community.” Bullock is an '83 PUC grad who started about two years ago working as a post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counselor at the Veterans Center in Sacramento, so she was already familiar with the re-assimilation challenges facing veterans — and very sympathetic to their experience and the complications they face at college. Bullock and Avila set out to address those...

During the 2010 General Conference World Session in Atlanta Georgia, the Hope Channel featured Pacific Union College President Heather Knight and PUC Outreach Chaplain Norman Knight on a special edition of “World of Hope.” The episode, taped on July 2 in front of a live studio audience in the World Session exhibit hall, focused on Knight’s appointment as PUC’s first female and black president and the couple’s ability to balance a high profile careers and family. Show host Kandus Thorp started the interview by asking how Heather manages such a hectic life as an administrator, pastor’s wife, and a mother of a large blended family. “Well, one thing I do believe is that when God calls on you to do something, he also empowers you and equips you to get the work done,” said Heather, who has worked in education for more than twenty years. Heather also stated that most important is to “start each day with prayer and you really have to ask God for wisdom.” The couple, who married in 2003, also shared how they raised eight children—all of whom are college graduates or completing their college degrees—by building a corporation of sorts with their family. “We put...

It's a June day in Atami, Japan, and a group of students and professors are getting a new lodging experience at a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn where they sleep on mats on the floor, wear yukata (casual summer kimonos), and eat traditional food. While memorable, the ryokan experience is just one of many adventures on a ten-day trip introducing these 15 Pacific Union College students and three professors to Japan — modern and traditional — for two classes, an Asian seminar history class and a political science class on U.S. foreign relations. History professors Ileana Douglas and Hilary Elmendorf led the trip and taught the classes, and biology professor Aimee Wyrick went along just for the experience. The students met for several class periods on campus before departing; while on the trip, the learning took place almost entirely on the go, with some meetings or debriefings on buses between tour sites. Each student journaled the experience and chose a topic for a follow-up research paper. They started in Tokyo, exploring three shrines and a blend of modern and traditional culture. Then they visited ancient capitals Kamakura and Kyoto, spent time in a national park where they could view Mt....

Joining tens of thousands of Adventists from around the world in Atlanta, Georgia, Pacific Union College is represented at the 2010 General Conference Session of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Joining scores of other church organizations in the exhibit halls, PUC hosts a booth featuring service projects run by current students and alumni. President Heather J. Knight is one of the PUC administrators and staff representing the college at the session, and she was asked to write a "Voices in the Dome" piece for the Adventist Review, reflecting on a Sabbath service at the session. In the article, she writes, "We saw and experienced the beloved community of Christ, a people in one accord worshipping on the Sabbath day. This was beautiful to see—women and men adorned in their colorful native dress from so many countries around the world, yet there seemed to be no strangers there."...