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The department of English at Pacific Union College held its first annual Emerging Voices of the Pacific Union essay contest. The contest began on March 12 to high school students from Seventh-day Adventist academies or junior academies in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah.Students had until April 21 to submit a personal essay about a time they found beauty in an everyday or unexpected place. Approximately 80 entries were received and judged by PUC English professors to choose three winners.PUC is happy to congratulate and share the winners of the Emerging Voices essay contest: 1st place is Joshua Nielson, a senior from Rio Linda Academy, who wrote an essay titled Whispers of a Ghost Town about a town called Bodie and finding true beauty within the legacy of towns. Judges were greatly impressed with Nielson’s strong sense of description and place and the unusual approach he took to thinking about beauty and discovery. His work is a fantastic representation of the beauty of California, and his voice as a writer shines through. Nielsen will receive a $1000 scholarship and a $500 prize. 2nd place is Yieby Shade, a junior from San Gabriel Academy, whose essay Layered In Between is about...

Pacific Union College and the Angwin community are deeply saddened by the loss of Allison Fox, PUC alum, access services librarian, and Honors program director, who passed away surrounded by her family on May 9 in Angwin, California.“Allison did a fantastic job taking care of our Honors students and making sure they had a great academic experience at PUC,” said Milbert Mariano, PUC vice president for academic administration and academic dean. “She did an excellent job preparing each of our students for the life of a Christian scholar. I am proud of the work she did and know many will miss her zest for life greatly.” Fox was born at St. Helena Hospital to Cheryl and Chuck Fox. She grew up in Angwin, along with sisters Heidi and Lizzie. She attended both PUC Elementary and PUC Preparatory Academy and was a lifelong member of the PUC Church. When she started college at PUC, Fox was a student worker for two years in the campus bookstore. She then worked for two more years at the Nelson Memorial Library, often in the archives with the Walter Utt collection. In 2001, she graduated from PUC with a B.A. in English. Fox moved away from her...

Sonscreen Film Festival is an event hosted by the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church for over the past 20 years. It brings together Adventist filmmakers to celebrate excellence in film, encourage new work, and has always had a strong focus on student filmmakers, with our Adventist college students being involved from the very beginning. Over the years, Rajeev Sigamoney, chair of the visual arts department, has attended the film festival and helped run the event. Now, he proudly takes Pacific Union College students to Sonscreen every year. “The connections and community have been deeply valuable to my artistic journey and career and I hope that it might be the same for the students,” said Sigamoney. “Not to mention, as a department, we love the time away from the campus spending time together and going deeper in our relationships.”More than 20 PUC film students represented the college, along with professors Sigamoney and Tim de la Torre. During the festival, they attended film screenings, professional showcases, participated in a pitch competition, and attended the awards banquet. On Friday evening, PUC showcased two projects worked on by faculty and students in front of a packed house, along with the NAD. These...

Professor of Nursing Susan Bussell was honored as Pacific Union College Educator of the Year at a special Community program in the PUC Church on May 18.Milbert Mariano, vice president for academic administration and academic dean, said Bussell demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and expertise in her field. “She's a true advocate for nursing education, and her enthusiasm for the profession is evident in her work with students,” he said. “She has a gift for inspiring and motivating her students and has been a mentor to many young nurses throughout her career as an educator.” This year marks the second time in the college’s history that a professor of nursing has been selected as the Educator of the Year. Last year’s honoree, Professor of Nursing Serah Choi, spoke about her journey from being a nurse to becoming an educator and looking to Jesus as her mentor. She reminded students that a little progress every day can eventually yield significant results.Mariano and Choi presented Bussell with a framed certificate, balloons, and a bouquet of sunflowers and red roses. She was also honored with a superhero cape and a lightsaber—all traditional gifts bestowed on the college’s previous honorees. Bussell’s husband, Ty,...

After a four-year hiatus, the annual Angwin to Angwish trail run made a triumphant return to Pacific Union College. Due to wildfire threats and the COVID-19 pandemic, 2018 was the last time this event was held.But early on a sunshine-filled Sunday, May 7, 100 runners of all ages from the college and in the greater community gathered atop the mountain to run and have fun. All funds from the race went to support the PUC department of athletics.Race director Abraham Garrido, also PUC’s head coach for both men’s and women’s cross-country teams, said he was surprised and excited about the number of participants. “They all had a great time, and that's something that stood out,” he said.Angwin to Angwish, which began in 1974, is a beautiful forested trail run through PUC’s backwoods property. This year’s event offered four races of varied difficulty and terrain. A 10k, half marathon, and 30k took runners up and over the aptly named “Angwish Hill.” There was also a 1-mile fun run for kids.“PUC has managed the forest well, opened it up to the surrounding area; it’s a huge community asset,” said Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell. “It’s great to feature it as part of...