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From January 21-25, Pacific Union College was blessed with five students who spoke for Student Week of Worship, themed  “Passion: As Told By You.” Students Abiel Irving, Josue Hilario, Elena Blum, Julian Clarke, and Leila Beltran shared how passion is the force that drives intentional action toward God, everyone, and everything. It was a powerful week seeing students from different backgrounds, some of whom haven’t spoken upfront before, sharing personal stories on their relationship with Christ and encouraging others to seek Him. “Students could be in the audience and think, ‘That could be me!’” said Beltran. “It was so inspiring to see people share how their mind works when it comes to PASSION, our theme. You connect so much better with speakers who are like you and that’s what this quarter’s Student Week of Worship was all about.” Irving enthusiastically kicked the week off by speaking about how faith plays a part in our lives, with the Holy Spirit working in the people and situations around us. Reading from Hebrews 13:5, she reminded the audience that God will never forsake His people. Irving shared another uplifting text from Philippians 4:13 and encouraged students to find strength in Christ and be...

Jarrod Denton, a 1996 PUC graduate, is an architect, partner, and founder at Signum Architecture, LLP. He and his business partner Juancarlos Fernandez launched their firm in St. Helena in 2011 and relocated to Napa in 2023. When they founded the firm, they chose the name “Signum”—a Latin term for design—to reflect the center point of the firm and represent their unique studio environment. Signum looks at architecture from a holistic point of view. With a diverse group of talented workers, they collaborate with artists, offering a perspective beyond traditional architecture and are knowledgeable in low-carbon construction. From caves to boutique hospitality and restaurants, Denton gravitates towards diverse architectural styles, especially if the project is elusive, requires a challenging creative solution, and is reusable to bring it to life. “I love the process—coming up with a design concept, not falling in love with the first solution, nurturing the design along, distilling the solution down to the essence, and ultimately walking through a built space,” he shared. When all is complete, projects designed by Denton and his team feel more rewarding because they prioritize their client and the environment. For Denton, the joys of being an architect are using the transformative...

Pacific Union College has seen a significant increase in student attendance at dorm worship. This attendance increase follows the combined efforts of students and staff to enhance these worship opportunities, showing how listening to students and tending to their spiritual needs strengthens their relationship with Christ and keeps them hungry for His word. On average, 100 to 120 students attend dorm worship weekly, a great improvement from last year when less than 60 students attended. Students are moving in numbers, encouraging their friends, and gathering together to share their faith. Last school year, Winning, Newton, and Andre Hall individually hosted worship open to all students. However, the scattered programs felt too similar to students, leaving them drained and unenthusiastic about any worship program. Throughout the week, fewer students attended. To fix this issue, student leaders and several staff members combined all dorm worship—with Newton, Andre, and Winning Hall—every Tuesday night at Scales Chapel, adopting a three-week rotation to lead each program. This rotation allows students to develop more creative ways to enhance worship without the stress of feeling burnt out. Another change they made is not having a speaker every week, and instead, having an activity to add program variety....

From November 1-4, Pacific Union College welcomed 300 guests for their annual College Days.This included students from Calexico Mission School, Central Valley Christian Academy, Fresno Adventist Academy, Glendale Adventist Academy, La Sierra Academy, Lodi Adventist Academy, Monterey Bay Academy, Mountain View Academy, Napa Christian, Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Pine Hills Adventist Academy, PUC Prep, Rio Lindo Adventist Academy, Sacramento Adventist Academy, and a church group from Costa Mesa.PUC Campus Visit Coordinator Andrianna Massena organized College Days for the third year, focusing on the feedback her team received in the past years and finding more ways to showcase campus life.Over the weekend, students had the opportunity to mingle during vespers and Afterlite, hear from PUC Chaplain Arturo Lopez during Sabbath School, hike in the Back 40, attend and participate in sporting events, explore St. Helena, and much more. PUC students ensured the visiting academies were welcomed and immersed in campus life. They hosted a Fall Fest and later, continued to socialize with other academy students during PUC’s version of “The Amazing Race,” where they explored campus landmarks and were rewarded with a waffle dessert bar as a late-night snack.As the PUC campus started a new week of school, academy students chose...

One day, Pacific Union College alum Jordan Wareham (2004) saw a raffle advertisement on Facebook for a 1968 Beechcraft Musketeer from the American Flight Museum in Topeka, Kansas. Thinking it was a scam, Wareham put his name in the raffle for fun and purchased six tickets, with proceeds going to the museum's aviation education.Time passed without word on the raffle until April, when Wareham was at Bowling Green State University in Ohio for his doctoral residency. He saw the museum would announce the raffle winner and watched the live drawing. When the announcer said his name—Wareham almost fell out of his chair.With 90 days to decide if he wanted the plane, Wareham and his wife determined this was not the time to operate a plane privately. They deeply felt this prize had been gifted to them for a greater purpose and knew they wanted to do something special.Wareham reached out to PUC Flight Director Nathan Tasker, who, at the time, was preparing to return to PUC. The aviation program needed a second primary training aircraft, and through a generous agreement, the Musketeer (N6066N) would be leased to PUC essentially for free. PUC Flight Instructor Luke Butler traveled to Kansas, inspected...

On September 23, Pacific Union College rang in the school year, welcoming back returning students. For new students, it was the start of an uncharted adventure they had long anticipated. PUC happily welcomed freshman students on campus for Fusion on Wednesday, September 18. Student Involvement Director Sharleen Bouit organized new student orientation with the help of Campus Chaplain Arturo Lopez, Director of Residential Life Gena Philpott, Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing & Communication Gene Edelbach, student life and enrollment staff, and faculty accomplishing all elements of the event. Bouit and her team arranged many activities for new students to enjoy and socialize, such as bowling, a resource hunt, a Fusion raffle, and making friendship bracelets. The friendship bracelets were a big hit as students had fun during the activity and joined groups, getting to know each other and bonding over a simple activity. They organized a food truck, hosted a movie night, and led vespers. “The freshman class seems super involved and willing to participate in events and activities, which makes for a super fun class,” shared Bouit.The fun continued as returning and transferring students moved in on Sunday, September 22, kicking off Week of Welcome. As school began the...

From October 3-5, Pacific Union College Preparatory School had 12 academies from across California on the campus of Pacific Union College for the annual volleyball tournament. Approximately 200 athletes and coaches attended from Glendale Adventist Academy, La Sierra Academy, Newbury Park Adventist Academy, Central Valley Christian Academy, Lodi Adventist Academy, Monterey Bay Academy, Mountain View Academy, Pleasant Hill Adventist Academy, Pine Hills Adventist Academy, Sacramento Adventist Academy, Kolbe Trinity Prep, and PUC Prep. PUC Campus Visit Coordinator Andrianna Massena organized the tournament, guaranteeing all guests were housed, fed in the café and gym, and could score some giveaway items. Others who helped were Tournament Director Hernan Granados, who arranged the gym and scoreboard workers and scouted potential athletes for next school year; PUC’s admissions and enrollment team; and PUC Prep Physical Education Teacher Matthew Lee, who ordered the game bracketing schedules and was the event MC. Massena also prepared social activities such as an ice cream sundae bar, hiking, and lawn games for the academies to enjoy and meet other students. PUC’s EMS Club also sold kettle corn during the championship game on Saturday night. Sacramento Adventist Academy won first place, with Glendale Adventist Academy coming in second. La Sierra...

Pacific Union College held its Week of Worship from October 7-11, with guest speaker Pastor Anil Kanda. He is the Youth and Young Adults Director for the Central California Conference and host of Hope at Night, a late night show that seeks to answer questions about God and life through interviews. Kanda was raised Hindu with a Seik background in Orange County by his parents, who immigrated from Punjab, India. As a young adult, he committed his life to the Lord after meeting a Seventh-day Adventist.Kanda titled his Week of Worship message "God's Passion." He talked about the passion God wants His people to have, the passion He gives, and His own passion—emphasizing no one is busier or more active than God while caring about each individual as if they are the only person He created. Kanda shared his belief that God communicates with His people by assuring them He sees them, understands their hearts, and knows them intimately. He encouraged the congregation to embrace this message during the Week of Worship.Before each message, PUC SA Religious Vice President Leila Beltran enthusiastically welcomed students, interacting with them on stage and getting them excited to worship. She was joined by a...

For the 34th year, Pacific Union College welcomed back academies around California for Publication Workshop from September 8-10. About 110 participants from Lodi, Mesa Grande, Mountain View, Pine Hills, Pleasant Hill, PUC Prep, Redlands, San Fernando, Tualatin Valley, and Ukiah focused on improving their high schools’ publications through workshops focusing on design, video production, photography, and writing. PUC Visual Arts Professor Tim de La Torre directed Publication Workshop for the third year. Alongside him presenting workshops were his visual arts colleagues Professor Brian Kyle, Nephtali Marin, and Cliff Rusch, and PUC Communication Professors Eric Graham and Tara Hargrove. Maranatha Volunteers International Vice President of Marketing Julie Z. Lee, a PUC alum, was this year’s keynote speaker. Amy Hill, yearbook advisor for Redlands Adventist Academy, also led workshop sessions for advisors and PUC Theology Professor James Wibberding leading opening worship. Participants started the first workshop with a two-hour breakout session for each subject and spent the afternoon with their teams working on two assignments that needed to be completed before 10pm. This activity taught students to develop cohesion and work under pressure as they created projects together. De La Torre hopes academies return home with the belief in the power of...

For the third year straight, Payscale ranked Pacific Union College as the third top college with the highest-paying associate's degree.Payscale is the leading provider of compensation data, software, and services. Their College Salary Report came from the alumni salary data of 3.1 million respondents, representing over 2,400 colleges and universities in the country. The median salary for a PUC student graduating with an associate degree is $100,900. In the top three, PUC followed behind Laboure College in Massachusetts and the Helene Fuld College of Nursing in New York. Every student at PUC receives financial aid, and with a two-year degree being more affordable, students can earn an associate's degree in healthcare, aviation, emergency services, and more. Students who take out loans could cut their loan payback time in half. PUC President Ralph Trecartin said this ranking is a testament to the quality of students PUC admits and the quality teaching and student support mechanisms built into the programs. “It is no wonder that our students come out exceptionally well prepared and in demand for some of the highest paying opportunities in their field,” said Trecartin. “We prepare our students to be career-ready but also to live well-rounded lives of service...