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Meet Christy Mantz, instructor of social work and service-learning coordinator at PUC, for this week’s #FacultyFriday. Ms. Mantz has taught full-time at PUC since 2016, after teaching at the college during the 2009-2010 school year. Previously, for several years she worked as a senior probation officer for Napa County, after working as a deputy probation officer and probation assistant.A resident of Napa County for nearly 14 years, Ms. Mantz has worked with a wide variety of non-profit and community based organizations, and continues to collaborate with local programs to manage PUC’s service-learning program. Always interested in work with youth and families, she has worked collaboratively with school officials, drug court programs, child welfare, foster families, substance abuse treatment centers, and a variety of residential treatment facilities across Northern and Central California.Name: Christy Mantz Title: Instructor of social work Email: cmantz@puc.edu Faculty since: July 1, 2016Classes taught:Intro to Social Work, History and Philosophy of Social Welfare Institutions, Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and Social Welfare Policy. I also coordinate the service-learning program at PUC, so I develop relationships with community agencies in Napa and Lake counties, and support faculty as they incorporate student projects with these agencies into their syllabi.Education:...

Over 350 academy student athletes, their coaches, and sponsors from 13 academies throughout California participated in the annual Pioneers Invitational academy basketball tournament at Pacific Union College, January 17-20.Game play began early Wednesday morning, January 17, and culminated in the championship game late Saturday night, January 20, played on center court. On the women’s side, the Spartans from Rio Lindo Adventist Academy in Healdsburg, Calif., defeated the Eagles from El Dorado Adventist School in Placerville, Calif., 44-39. For the men, the Capitals from Sacramento Adventist Academy in Sacramento, Calif., beat out the Spartans from Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, 54-32.Other tournament participants included the Eagles from American Christian Academy in Citrus Heights, Calif.; the Cavaliers from Central Valley Christian Academy in Ceres, Calif.; the Vikings from Fresno Adventist Academy in Fresno, Calif.; the Titans from Lodi Academy in Lodi, Calif.; the Mighty Cypress from Monterey Bay Academy in Watsonville, Calif.; the Knights from Napa Christian Campus of Education in Napa, Calif.; the Gators from Newbury Park Adventist Academy in Newbury Park, Calif.; the Cougars from Paradise Adventist Academy in Paradise, Calif.; the Eagles from Pine Hills Adventist Academy in Auburn, Calif.; and the Falcons from Pacific Union College Preparatory School in...

On Thursday, January 18, for the opening Colloquy of the new quarter, former PUC alumna and instructor of psychology Allison Musvosvi spoke to a crowded sanctuary. In her talk, titled “#woke?”, she shared narratives from her childhood upbringing in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Botswana, and her experience immigrating to the United States. She also encouraged the audience members to have hard conversations surrounding race and privilege. Musvosvi currently works as a research analyst at ILLUME Advising, LLC.Musvosvi recounted having her understanding and concept of race broadened after moving to the United States and learning about Latinos, Native Americans, and other ethnic groups, and noticing the color of her skin and her country of origin made people classify her differently. She told the story of her first day of school in America, when her teacher spoke very slowly to her after class and asked whether she had food. Musvosvi realized the teacher assumed she might need help, based on their concept and bias of Africa, her accent, and the fact that she was thin.“Sometimes our shallow understanding of the issues can actually be harmful and hurtful, and sometimes just as harmful and hurtful as spewing out some of the other hateful epitaphs...

On April 27, 2017, the PUC Church sanctuary was packed full of students, faculty, and staff, all excitedly awaiting the announcement of PUC’s next student-selected Educator of the Year. As PUC tradition states, the winner is a tightly kept secret known only to a few people on campus and is announced at the annual Educator of the Year Colloquy. When Dr. Kent Davis’ name was announced, there was loud and extended applause for the ever popular chemistry professor and department chair. As he sat in the seat of honor on the platform, the audience was treated to funny stories from his wife Rachelle Davis, a fellow PUC faculty member in the department of music, and touching stories from a few close students. Not everyone has the privilege of taking classes from Dr. Davis, so we asked him a few questions to get better acquainted with the man behind the 2017 PUC Educator of the Year award. Describe your typical work day. I generally arrive at my office around 8 a.m. I make final preparations for my class at 9 and then go teach it. Afterwards I talk with students, make assignments covering the material from class, do other administrative tasks,...

Four Pacific Union College alumni bestowed their wealth of knowledge and advice to the campus community in a special Colloquy program on Thursday, November 16. Dr. Eliazar Alvarez, ’84, Angelica Ramirez Dull, ’82, Scott Wendt, ’85, and Dr. Vaughn Browne, ’85, were the honored presenters for the morning, speaking about how a PUC education helped get them to the successful places they are today.Dr. Eliazar Alvarez studied chemistry with a biochemistry emphasis at PUC, and went on to graduate from the School of Medicine at Loma Linda University. He has been practicing family medicine for over 20 years, and currently is part of Wheatland Medical Associates in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Alvarez shared his story as an immigrant from Mexico and the obstacles he overcame, and reminisced about his time at PUC. He worked at the front desk for Newton Hall and appreciated the college’s remote location, which he believes encourages students to become closer to one another. He appreciates that at PUC he made friends from all over the world and to this day he remains friends with many of them. “Open yourself to other cultures, you only risk expanding your mind,” Dr. Alvarez encouraged. “Remember in Christ there is...