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Sunday, October 20, marked the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newest section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, an extensive hiking route spanning from Calistoga in the north all the way to Gilroy in the south. The trail runs through PUC’s Back 40, and is part of a larger conservation effort that will eventually include 1,100 acres of protected forest lands.PUC’s forest manager, Peter Lecourt, headed the dedication with a speech detailing upcoming plans for the forest. Along with informational kiosks and maps, plans for additional parking are underway, in an effort to make the natural beauty of the PUC area as accessible for recreation as possible.Kellie Lind, PUC’s vice president for alumni and advancement, commented on PUC’s rich history with the surrounding land.“Not only were many of PUC’s academic buildings constructed using lumber from the back 40, but last year 14 classes used the forest as part of their curriculum just during Fall Quarter,” she noted.A number of Napa Valley officials attended the ceremony, including Napa Open Spaces District Vice President Barry Christian, Bay Area Ridge Trail executive director Janet McBride, county supervisor Dianne Dillon, and chairman of the board of Napa Supervisors Ryan Gregory.Dillon commented on the importance and...

Pastor Kent Rufo led this fall quarter’s Week of Prayer with a powerful sermon series entitled, “The Broken Gospel.” Held in the PUC church, students gathered each morning of the week for an hour of worship, community-building, and scriptural study.Beginning with Monday’s service, each meeting built upon the previous day’s message. Pastor Rufo quoted from Revelation 21:4, and explained his sermons rested on the premise found in the verse which holds that God ultimately wishes to do away with death, sorrow, crying, and pain. He noted that we all live in an imperfect world, plagued by these difficulties, and part of our journey as Christians involves learning how to navigate through these troublesome issues.Pastor Rufo continued on Tuesday with the assertion that, as humans, we all cope. He listed a variety of “numbing agents” people typically turn to, but concluded the only true healing comes from God. He explained, “We only have one healer, and everything else is simply a substitute for true healing.”Wednesday expanded this concept of healing to the Gospel, and Pastor Rufo explained the good news, or the essence of the Gospel, is that Jesus willingly became our brokenness so we would not suffer under its weight...

The department of visual arts at Pacific Union College invites the community to an art exhibit opening reception for photographer Douglas Sandquist on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. The event will take place in the Rasmussen Art Gallery on the college campus, and will feature an artist talk and refreshments. This reception is free and open to the public.Sandquist attended PUC as a bio-chem major in the early 90s, but was accepted into dental school after his junior year, so he never completed his degree at PUC. He went on to become a dentist back in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, where today he curates the unexpected combination of his dental career and photography.“Most dental photography is macro photography, but it’s also portrait photography,” Sandquist explains. “I originally wanted to learn how to take better clinical photos, so I delved into learning how to better use a camera, how to compose a shot, and how to work with different lighting. One thing led to another, and I started to enjoy photography outside the office just as much as in it.”In 2016, a photo Sandquist took in Iceland with his iPhone and shared via Instagram was requested by Apple...

PUC’s newly christened Community Speaker Series (familiarly called “Community”) held its opening convocation in the PUC Church on Thursday, Oct. 3. Previously called Colloquy, the goal of Community is indicated in its title: to build a network of close-knit relationships between students and faculty across the college’s campus. Essentially, it seeks to build “ONEPUC.”After a Community Brief video featuring athletic director Richie Sillie detailing the upcoming week’s events, President Bob Cushman took to the stage to welcome new staff, faculty, and students, as well as recognize members of this year’s graduating senior class. Each group was asked to stand for applause as he recognized their role on the PUC campus.As the audience settled into their seats, Student Association President Megan Belz read from Matthew 22:37-39 and concluded by praying over the church family. With the message of love at the forefront, a video of chaplain Kent Rufo played in which he reminded the campus that they are all members of one body that is committed to each other as the PUC family.President Cushman then returned to the stage with a short, but impactful message that spoke to the heart of PUC’s goals as it looks towards a new academic year....

This year’s Pathfinder Camporee at Oshkosh in Wisconsin hosted a film crew from PUC’s own department of visual arts. A group of four students, one alum, and faculty director Tim de la Torre were tasked with creating nine-minute videos to highlight five days of the annual pathfinder meeting, under the direction of Erik Stenbakken from Stenbakken Media. These “Day in Review” videos were displayed every evening, showcasing not only Camporee events and activities, but also the talents of the small film crew on hand.Sophomore film and television major, Adam Adreveno, helped the team navigate the many challenges that entail when filming among a group of 50,000 people.“My job was basically to do what needed to be done as quickly as possible. I would go out to film different stories ranging from ‘Camp Life’ to ‘Woohoo: Fun Stuff to Do’ and then edit them together if I had time,” he continued, “I learned how to manage long days and pressure in order to deliver a specific video that needed to be completed by a deadline. Working at the Camporee was like a crash course on how to make good videos quickly.”Alum Gabriela Talavera mirrored Adreveno’s sentiments about working under constrained timing....