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A younger set of students than usual occupied the classrooms and labs of Fisher Hall, PUC’s hub of visual arts action, on September 6 and 7. The 16th annual Publication Workshop brought nearly 200 Pacific Union Conference academy students and their sponsors a solid stretch of classes and workshops providing practical, hands-on training in the specific media of yearbooks, newspapers, video yearbooks, and this year’s new unit on radio podcasts. This year’s theme was “Making Your Own History.” Elegant signs reclining on easels in the halls directed participants to the gauntlet of classes, which were divided into “learning pods” in order for the students to focus on their specific roles as writers, editors, designers, photographers, video editors, podcasters or sponsors. This year’s increased enrollment meant that some classes had to be offered several times or presented in large-capacity lecture halls. The Mac lab, video editing lab, and PUC Radio studio provided real-life working locations for many workshops, and a lineup of 21 talented and experienced presenters brought their personal experience to the classrooms for the 40-plus sessions on vital publication skills. Leticia Russell, coordinator of the workshop and a member of PUC’s Student Success Center team, has been working with...

The Pioneers sports teams of Pacific Union College have received the “California Pacific Conference Team Sportsmanship Award” for the 2005-2006 season. The award was presented to Robert Castillo, director of athletics, at the annual Cal Pac Conference convention at Dominican University of California on August 27, 2006. The sportsmanship award is presented to the member institution that displays outstanding sportsmanship and exemplifies the true spirit of the “Champions of Character” program set forth by the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Since it was first presented after the 1999-2000 season, coaches from the member institutions have determined the award through a voting system and presented the award at the Cal Pac convention each fall. This is the Pioneers’ second time to receive the award; it was also presented to PUC for the 2002-2003 season. Other recipients have been Simpson College (now Simpson University, Redding, Calif.) and Menlo College (Atherton, Calif.). PUC is one of 10 institutions that make up the Cal Pac Conference. As a member of the NAIA, the Pioneers compete in the conference in women’s volleyball, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s cross country, and men’s and women’s basketball....

In the annual “America’s Best Colleges” report of U.S. News & World Report, Pacific Union College is once again ranked in the top tier of the Best Comprehensive Colleges–Bachelor’s, western region. The category is for institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs, and high scores are based on peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, and alumni giving. Aspects of PUC that contribute to its high score include its proportion of classes with fewer than 20 students, a high percent of faculty who are full time, alumni giving, and solid freshman retention rates. Pacific Union College is a four-year liberal arts college in Angwin. PUC focuses on undergraduate education and offers a full lineup of bachelor’s degrees. For over ten years, the college has consistently ranked in the top tier for its category in U.S. News & World Report....

Summer always finds a collection of PUC students scattered around the world for mission projects. This year was no exception, with students working at a day camp in Thailand and a moving summer camp in Micronesia, teaching English in Korea, and preaching in Mexico. PUC junior Elben Capule, who was in the heart of Bangkok, Thailand, for two months, found his experience of the culture very positive. “It's very respectful and kind. I like it so much and have gotten quite used to it.” In addition to his main tasks of teaching English, music, and tennis in the summer day camp and specialty camps, Elben helped start a youth ministry. The student missionaries invited high school students—many of whom have never been to church—to “Thursday Night Live,” where the students spent time playing games, eating, and having topic discussions with the student missionaries. “Just the fact that the students were weekly was fulfilling for me,” says Elben. “We’re hoping this program will last all year round.” Student Jonathan Fox wasn’t planning on going on a summer mission trip, but made a last-minute decision to join the group in Micronesia—and, he says, it “ended up to be exactly where I was...

There were 29 smart, youthful individuals at PUC July 23–28 for the annual PacificQuest program, a summer event for gifted and talented students entering grades 8-10. Designed to challenge students in ways not always possible in typical high school and junior high classrooms, PacificQuest gives these students a chance to learn from PUC professors, earn an hour of college credit, and enjoy recreation and activities with each other. This year’s theme was “Communicating with Style and Purpose,” and all the students took the core Communication Skills for Young Leaders class, which focused on key communication skills such as decoding nonverbal gestures, being a powerful listener and speaker, and understanding persuasion principles. Each student also chose an area of emphasis, either “The Physics of Communications” or “Italian Culture and Language.” In the communication physics class, students explored and experimented with various communication techniques from smoke signals to fiber optics, learning historical and physical aspects of how communications are accomplished. The Italian students enjoyed speaking, singing, and eating for their experience of Italian culture. They also had a chance to admire the work of a local Venetian artist, explore local suppliers of olio d’oliva, and learn about soccer, opera, fashion, art and...