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During the 2026 California Association of Colleges of Nursing Conference (CACN) in Palm Springs, CA, Assistant Professor of Nursing and Director of the RN to BSN Program, Sandra Ringer, and former PUC Dean of Nursing, Kimberly Dunker, won the Most Distinguished Poster award for exploring emotional intelligence among PUC senior nursing students.The purpose of the project was to evaluate how senior student nurses perceived their emotional intelligence, which is critical to the nursing program as it prepares them for their transition to nursing practice. Ringer began her work by investigating and understanding the problem with graduate surveys and community partners’ feedback, which showed critical gaps as students enter the workforce. This feedback served as a basis for understanding how nursing schools ensure that their graduates are well-equipped for nursing practice. Some of the most concerning areas of research within this project focused on stress management, communication concerns, and their ability to handle conflict. Using the BlueEQ emotional intelligence tool, the presentation discussed two years of student feedback in the classroom environment and its impact on students’ scores at the end of the program, along with awareness and training.The research spanned the 2023 to 2025 school years, beginning in fall 2023...

On Monday, February 23, Pacific Union College’s aviation program’s newest addition to its fleet, affectionately known as Charlie, landed at its new home at Virgil O. Parrett Field.Many students, faculty, staff, photographers, and PUC board and community members waited in excitement for Charlie’s arrival, eagerly tracking the aircraft’s tail number on the FlightAware app and monitoring the skies.Upon its landing, everyone warmly applauded Assistant to the Flight Center Director Andrew Hosford as he climbed out of the aircraft, marking the day a momentous occasion for the aviation program and the community.Because of Hosford’s experience in mechanical and avionics skills, he helped complete the refurbishment of Charlie. After receiving an airworthiness certificate, he, alongside Lead Mechanic Kyle Kennedy, flew the aircraft from Andrews Airpark in Michigan to Oklahoma Academy. There, they gave students and staff a few joyrides over the weekend before flying west to Porterville, CA, on Sunday morning. Flying the last leg, Hosford circled low around the PUC campus before touching down at Virgil O. Parrett Field.This Cessna 206 has faithfully served in some of the most remote and challenging corners of Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Vanuatu since it was brand new in 1976, accumulating nearly 2.4 million...

Over the past few years, Pacific Union College has enthusiastically expanded its graduate degree programs in education, nursing, communication, and business, offering flexibility, small class sizes, experiential learning, and most importantly, a Christian environment that empowers students with opportunities within the Seventh-day Adventist world and beyond.Having offered the Master of Education program for some time, the college decided to broaden its offerings in other high-demand fields in an online setting, which has ultimately allowed PUC to expand its reach to more students in California and Hawaii. Currently, the M.Ed. degree is a summer-based program that exposes graduates to teaching skills and technological proficiency, scholarly research, and leadership development while observing classroom trends and issues.Dean of the School of Arts, Humanities, and Professions, Milbert Mariano, emphasized the need to reach students beyond PUC. “We are adding to our list of online graduate programs providing much-needed training for busy professionals who want to advance their careers through master's degrees,” he said.To keep up with the high demand for nurses in the job market, PUC now offers a Master of Science in Nursing, a 100% online program that provides core, specialty, and practicum courses to students who already hold a BSN. Two areas...

This past fall quarter, Pacific Union College Aviation Program Director Nathan Tasker taught the AVIA-402: Simulation Innovation course for the first time. The purpose of this class was to further the program’s two prototype simulators. One group focused on the full-motion, six-degrees-of-freedom platform purchased with funds from the 2025 VersaCare grant. This platform is a highly respected, cutting-edge device that is currently marketed for realistic, immersive simulation.Throughout the quarter, aviation students have worked diligently and collaboratively to adapt this platform for use in a virtual reality full-motion trainer to help beginning flight students progress more rapidly and affordably. In the initial analysis of the program, the students attempted to validate the motion characteristics of the full-motion base. Students took measurements, made calculations, and analyzed the data to determine how well the platform simulated an aircraft hurtling through a large 3-D space, a complicated prospect. Unfortunately, they found that the original software did not accurately reflect washout and load factor, which are crucial factors for achieving a realistic result.After they followed up with the manufacturer, the students learned that their goal was beyond the scope of the manufacturer's development team, prompting them to develop their very own motion platform software under...

From January 26 to January 31, Pacific Union College students shared passionate testimonies and sermons during the Winter Student Week of Worship service.Starting the week was senior psychology major and Director of Small Groups in the Office of Service, Justice, and Missions, Britney Hernandez. Leading up to her sermon, a video of Hernandez sharing a cake with her peers across campus circulated online, foreshadowing the core of her message: “Jesus is like good cake. Share it with others.”She pointed to John 4:4– the story of the Samaritan woman who went to draw water from the well. When the woman encountered Jesus, “He offered her living water, love, and words of comfort that she probably had not heard in a long time,” said Hernandez.Hernandez brought the audience to the heart of this Bible story in John 4:39-41, relating it to the cake reference. The Samaritan woman returned to her village and gathered the people, telling them about the person she had just met. Hernandez prompted listeners to ask God to make them sensitive to opportunities to offer Jesus to others, and to purposefully choose to be the instrument God uses to reach others so that they, too, can witness His glory...

Driven by his passion for service, Pacific Union College alumnus Jordan Delarmente was inspired by his time on campus to redefine the essence of worship and to be a light to people in a dark place, even in the heart of deployment overseas.After graduating in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing communications and an associate degree in health science, Delarmente immediately began working in the healthcare field for six months in San Jose, CA. However, he has always felt a deep calling to join the military because his great-grandfather served in WW2 and survived the Bataan Death March, granting his family the opportunity to come to the United States.Delarmente will have been in the National Army Guard for eight years this May and currently serves in operations and logistics, supporting hundreds of troops throughout the Middle East. When he is not deployed or working weekends, Delarmente works for the U.S. Air Force as a Nuclear Test Equipment Manager, supervising technical aspects of nuclear-related testing environments.His family highly values Adventist education that equips them with the skills for a service-oriented career, which is why they sent him to PUC. Delarmente also notes that he wanted to follow in his father’s...

Pacific Union College’s aviation program proudly awaits the arrival of Charlie, the longest-serving aircraft for the Seventh-day Adventist church in the South Pacific and possibly globally.This Cessna 206 has served in some of the most remote and challenging corners of the world since it was brand new in 1976. Now, PUC anticipates that a fully-refurbished aircraft will continue to serve locally and further afield.The first Adventist plane to serve in Papua New Guinea was referred to as P2-SDA, with P2 being the country code for PNG. Because the aviation world uses the ICAO phonetic alphabet, pilots refer to Alpha for A, Bravo for B, and Charlie for C. When it came time for P2-SDC to be registered, it was affectionately nicknamed “Charlie” for short.Charlie’s story is one that is very special to the people of Papua New Guinea, Australia, and Vanuatu, considering its 50 years of faithful service to the church and community there. Accumulating nearly 4 million kilometers (2.4 million miles) and witnessing the establishment of over 1,000 churches, Charlie has transported thousands of pastors, missionaries, laymen, and building materials to remote areas to construct churches, schools, and clinics. It also carried hundreds of doctors, nurses, and teachers to...

Freshman pre-nursing major and student-athlete Liah Ronneburg is a bright blue-eyed Maxwell Scholar who walks around campus with a vision to make a difference with every stride. Passionate about people, she foresees involvement in the school, church, and community as she prepares to become a nurse who embodies the love of Christ.Sonora-based Ronneburg stated that she was instantly drawn to Pacific Union College because of her strong Seventh-day Adventist beliefs and her love for soccer and Northern California, so choosing PUC was a natural choice for her.“I want to be able to look back and be proud of my time here at PUC. I want to say that I made a difference in not just my life, but other people’s lives as well,” said Ronneburg as she was asked about her goal as she foresees the next four years. “I also want to try my best to always be a type of support for my community. I want to help make it better and be there at its lowest.”Prior to joining PUC from Sonora High School, she was not only an achiever of determination and excellence, but a four-year, three-sport athlete with a 4.0 GPA.Behind her accolades, Ronneburg held herself...

Recently, Pacific Union College was gratefully awarded grants of $59,987 for the M.A. in Communication and $74,041 for the Aviation Program, respectively, by the Archie Tonge Education Fund.The first grant will support the new Master of Arts in Communication, a fully online, 43-credit program designed for working professionals who will be prepared for leadership roles in healthcare, ministry, and mission-driven organizations, among others. On a broader scale, this degree will fulfill the market’s demand for roles such as public relations specialists, health services managers, digital media and marketing managers, as well as opportunities in the nonprofit sectors, global missions, and church ministries.PUC’s M.A. in Communication is the only entirely online, professionally focused degree offered within the Adventist higher education system, directly addressing unmet student demand and workforce needs and aligning with PUC’s commitment to developing ethical, Christ-centered leaders for service.These funds will help support various areas within the program, including course and program development, faculty support, including adjunct instructors, administrative support, marketing and student recruitment, and technology and digital tools.The second grant awarded to PUC will help support the Aviation Program’s remarkable turnaround and success over the last few years through God’s blessings and the dedicated efforts of Nathan Tasker,...

The Pacific Union College biology department is proud to announce that its student education and monitoring program for grebes, also known as aquatic diving birds, has been fully funded by the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) in November 2025.Scientist in Residence Dr. Scott Butterfield leads this program alongside Biology Professor Dr. Floyd Hayes and Chair of the School of Sciences, Aimee Wyrick. Together, they will collaborate and engage with PUC and Lake County high school students to participate in this novel scientific monitoring project, where they will use drones and AI to study the recovery of Clear Lake’s ecosystems.“Our hope is that by building a monitoring program collaboratively with local high school students that is grounded in new and emerging technologies, we can create something that is sustainable for many years to come,” said Dr. Butterfield.After being approved by the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Rehabilitation of Clear Lake, the department received the full funding of $288,988 and officially launched the project with CNRA in November 2025. The project is valid until June 2028.While the department waited for the funding’s approval, they have been diligently working to establish partnerships with the Redbud Audubon Society, Upper Lake High School, Lower Lake...