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Former Miss America Presents Colloquy Speaker Series

By Lauren Armstrong on June 3, 2013

Former Miss America Angela Perez Baraquio Grey presented the Colloquy Speaker Series May 30, celebrating Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. Grey was crowned Miss America in 2001, as Miss Hawaii. She made history by becoming the first and only Asian-American to hold the position. Grey was also the first teacher to earn the title, as an elementary school physical education teacher. During her year as Miss America, her platform was “Character Education.” Grey grew up in Hawaii. Her family moved to America from the Philippines in 1970. “Like so many others, they were trying to achieve the American dream,” she said. Thinking back to her childhood, Grey remembered feeling excluded because she was different. “It wasn’t long before I began to look for way to make a space for myself in the world that was mine alone,” she remembered. “Eventually I was able to come to terms and embrace my multiple identities—as an American, a Filipina, a Catholic girl raised in Hawaii, and the eighth of 10 children who was often referred to by number rather than name.” She consciously recognized that she didn’t look like the women in the Miss America pageant, or even other women in magazines and on...
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REVOfest 2013

By Lauren Armstrong on May 24, 2013

The last and largest REVO event of the year took place Sunday, May 19. The day’s festivities included a rummage sale, a live benefit concert, and a fashion show. REVO, a student-led philanthropic movement, first came to PUC in the spring of 2008. Each year since, students have chosen a different organization to team up with in support of a worthy cause. This year, all proceeds of REVO-related events went to Love146, an organization working to abolish child sex-trafficking and exploitation, while also providing aftercare to victims. Senior nursing student Brittney Foldvary was involved with this year’s event by overseeing publicity about REVO’s charity. “I love children and believe strongly in the protection of their vulnerabilities,” said Foldvary, “so knowing that I could be a small part of contributing to the lives of these children by providing information about these issues was extremely rewarding.” One significant addition to this year’s setup was Spring Fest. Traditionally, Spring Fest is held in the gymnasium on a different weekend than REVO, but this year the two were combined outdoors. According to REVO’s student leader Kristianne Ocampo, the idea was first proposed to benefit both events. Because Spring Fest is generally less popular than...
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PUC Career Center Is Busy In February

By Lauren Armstrong on February 26, 2013

The second week of February was a busy one for the Career & Counseling Center here at PUC, as it’s getting to that time of the year when students begin to accelerate their job search. Two annual events—the Internship & Job Fair and the Grad School Fair—gave students helpful tools as they continue to think about the next step. “We want students to start getting experience and exposure to help them determine and achieve their goals,” said PUC Career Counselor Laura Gore. The Internship & Job Fair, on Wednesday, Feb. 13, brought 15 representatives with opportunities for volunteering, internships, and jobs. “We had a mix of volunteer, internship, and employment opportunities to reach students of all years and get them involved, developing skills, and applying their classroom learning to real world situations,” Gore said. The Grad School Fair took place Thursday, Feb. 14, featuring representatives from 18 schools. “Many of our students go on to do graduate work and we want students to be aware of the options and start planning ahead and being intentional in their choices,” Gore explained. “There are many great schools and programs for graduate work and we want students to choose something that will be...
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REVO 2012: Not Waiting on Our World to Change

By Lauren Armstrong on May 14, 2012

On April 29, PUC’s fifth annual REVO event raised money for Project Pueblo—an organization working to eradicate global poverty. PUC has partnered with Project Pueblo twice just this year, taking student mission trips during Christmas and spring breaks to aid underdeveloped communities in Arizona’s Navajo Nation. Sunday evening on the campus mall, paper lanterns and handmade tissue flowers hung from the trees and pictures from Project Pueblo were suspended from clotheslines. A band made up of PUC students welcomed attendees with live music. Once the event was in full swing and guests had the chance to fill up on corndogs, quesadillas, rice and beans, and cupcakes, the main band took the stage, opening with The Boys are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy. As the students performed a concert, guests browsed the silent auctions, the Stuff Sale, and food options. The Stuff Sale was a big part of this year’s event. For months, students have been donating their nearest and dearest items—clothes, shoes, accessories, and more—to help the cause. Clotheslines formed a web among the trees on the mall, holding a multitude of hanging clothes. Shoes and accessories filled up nearby tables. Christmas lights suspended between tree trunks flickered on...
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Sister Helen Prejean, Author of Dead Man Walking, to Speak at PUC

By Lauren Armstrong on April 18, 2012

Sister Helen Prejean, social activist and author, will speak about her ministry at Pacific Union College’s Colloquy Speaker Series May 3. Prejean’s ministry focuses on the moral dilemma of the death penalty and her proactive efforts to abolish the death penalty in the United States. Prejean began her work in prison ministry in 1981 when she became pen pals with Louisiana death row inmate Patrick Sonnier. She became Sonnier’s spiritual advisor, while at the same time learning more about the execution process. Prejean witnessed Sonnier’s execution in the electric chair April 5, 1984. Her resulting book—Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States—became a New York Times bestseller, was nominated for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize, and was subsequently made into a major motion picture nominated for four Academy Awards and ultimately winning Susan Sarandon the 1995 Oscar for Best Actress. Prejean will give her presentation May 3 at 10 a.m. in the PUC Church Sanctuary. Admission is free. ...
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