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On the weekend of April 17 to 18, Pacific Union College welcomed 220 graduates and attendees across generations to engage in events, honor proud and successful alumni, and come together in worship– just like old times.Kickstarting Friday afternoon activities, alumni enjoyed the pickleball tournament alongside PUC students and alumni. Following the games, they were invited to attend a Pioneer Dinner, mingling and catching up with each other on their old stomping grounds. Welcoming the Sabbath during Friday night vespers was Dwight Nelson, former Andrews University lead pastor, evangelist, and author, who was finishing up the PUC Spring Week of Worship service that evening. His message directed students and alumni to be willing to pick up their own cross and to serve God on a larger scale, trusting in His will for them, no matter where they go.“Every year, I meet new alums. Incredible people with amazing stories. PUC created an amazing spiritual, educational, and social experience then,” said PUC President Ralph Trecartin. “I am inspired and reassured that we are building on a great foundation and carrying forward a pattern for current students of what the PUC experience is supposed to be. My pride for alums from 25, 50, or...

From April 13 to 17, Pacific Union College held its Spring Week of Worship service led by former Andrews University pastor, evangelist, and author Pastor Dwight Nelson.He passionately started off the week by sharing his appreciation for the beauty across campus. “This [place] is just absolutely heavenly. I love this college, your president, your professors, and I am going to get to love you. I can tell just by looking at you.”Kickstarting his sermon, he assured the audience that they are not alone if they feel deep hurt and don’t experience healing. “We are going to go to the cross five times together this week– Jesus says, 'Come to me, and I will give you rest.”Holding a blank death certificate, Pastor Nelson directed the audience’s attention to the reality of being issued this piece of paper if Jesus doesn’t come soon enough. He told a story of a 22-year-old student who passed away in a car accident, someone who had her whole life ahead of her. Life is not certain, but it does have a purpose, pertaining to why Jesus died for all of humanity. He then asked, “What killed Jesus? Three Roman nails? How about the centurion’s lance that...

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...