Academics

For many, reaching sweet 16 is a milestone in life. For Jaci Velasquez, the newest and youngest artist on the Myrrh Records' roster, it means another year of travel in support of her new album Heavenly Place. The contemporary Christian musician will perform in concert at the Pacific Union College amphitheater at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 21, 1996. At age 16, Velasquez is an ordinary teenager with abundance of energy, dreams, and ambitions. What makes her unique is her voice, which has been likened to that of an up-and-coming Whitney Houston, and her wish to minister through music. "I've always known what I wanted from life. I think I know what I want out of my ministry. I want to go and reach people my age-people that maybe even a youth pastor couldn't reach," Velasquez said. Velasquez has been recording and performing since age ten. She won a contest over 3,000 other entrants in an entertainment pageant at age 11, and she sang at the White House before she turned 13. The roots of Velasquez's musical talent are in her family, which has been active in both music and speaking ministry. She has sung as a part of her...

The Pacific Union College Lady Pioneers made another outstanding home court performance against Menlo College on Sunday, October 7. The Pioneers rallied to win the first two games 15-8, 15-6. Menlo came back in the third game with strong serving, which challenged PUC's receiving squad. Communication errors led to a third game loss for PUC of 9-15. PUC took control of the fourth game with strong blocks from freshman middle hitter Emily Ziegler. The Pioneers claimed the last game 15-12 and won the match. "I think we're finally coming together mentally," said sophomore outside hitter Jessica Ziegler. "We're encouraging and supporting each other in a positive way." PUC will play Simpson College at their next home game on Tuesday, October 22. The Pioneers currently have a 4-5 overall record. ...

The Pacific Union College Lady Pioneers played Dominican College on Sunday, Oct. 13, and lost 4-15, 0-15, 9-15. The Pioneers started off slow with communication and passing errors. They came back strong in the third game with a 6-1 lead, but Dominican's servers proved to be a challenge to the Pioneers. "We needed to move our feet," said sophomore outside hitter Shannon Owen, co-captain of the Pioneers. "We didn't play up to our level." Carrie Wade, freshman outside hitter, said she'd like to see a higher level of game intensity during away games. "It's easy to be pumped up at home when we have a crowd, but we need to work out getting that same focus and intensity when we're on the road," Wade said. The Pioneers currently have a 4-6 overall record....

The Pacific Union College Lady Pioneers played their last game of the season on Saturday, Oct. 26, with the Bethany College Bruins. The Pioneers won 15-4, 9-15, 15-13, 16-14. During the opening ceremony, the Pioneers acknowledged captain Michelle Konn, a middle blocker, with flowers and a gift. Konn, the only senior on the team, will graduate in June with three years of varsity experience. The Pioneers started the match with confidence after winning their previous league matches during the week. They captured a 17-15, 18-16, 15-10 win over Simpson College on Tuesday, Oct. 22, and a 15-3, 16-14, 10-15, 15-3 win over Cal State University Maritime on Wednesday, Oct. 23. Bethany gave the Pioneers trouble in the second game, starting with a 5-0 lead due to passing errors. "We just got over-confident and we let our intensity drop," said freshman middle blocker Emily Ziegler. The Pioneers regained their momentum in the third game, winning long rallies and serving well. A Bethany player suffered a knee injury with a 14-14 tie in the fourth game, and the Pioneers scored two quick points to win the match. "I thought that we came together and hustled," said sophomore setter Trisha Williams. "We felt...

The Pacific Union College women's volleyball team, the Lady Pioneers, played their last away game with Cal State University-Monterey on Saturday night, Oct. 19. The Pioneers won 15-6, 15-10, 12-15, 15-11. "We were having trouble winning on the road, so this victory gave us the confidence to know we have the ability to play well in any situation," said sophomore co-captain Shannon Owen. The Pioneers started off strong with a 9-0 lead in the first game. The teams were tied at 10-10 in the second game, but strong serving from senior middle blocker Michelle Konn helped the Pioneers win 15-10. The Pioneers slowed down in the third game with passing and hitting errors, but pulled together in the fourth game to win the match. The Pioneers have an overall record of 5-7. They will play their last games of the season at PUC's Pacific Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 25, at 3 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 26, at 7:30 p.m....

Pacific Union College's women's volleyball team, the PUC Pioneers, played their first preseason game of the school year on Thursday, September 12, with the visiting La Sierra University Eagles. The Pioneers won in three straight sets 15-7, 15-11, 15-6. With only four returning players, head coach Bob Paulson is working on building the 14-member squad into a unified team. "Our first game gave indication of youth and transition, and hopefully each ensuing game will give indication of growth and improvement," said Paulson. Team captain Michelle Konn, a senior middle blocker, said the Pioneers are working to improve both on and off court dynamics. "We are learning how to adjust to new players and situations," Konn said. "We have tremendous talent and potential with this group, and I'd like to see them come together." This is PUC's first year as a member of the California Pacific Conference league, an affiliate of the National Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). ...

The Pacific Union College Lady Pioneers are only getting better. After Friday afternoon's win over Cal State University Monterey, the Pioneers were ready for the Holy Names College Hawks on Sunday night. The Hawks, however, won the first two sets 15-2, 15-8. The Pioneers came back in the third set with a 6-1 lead, and with two crucial kills from freshman outside hitter Rachel Kendall, won the set 15-12. The Pioneers led 9-6 in the fourth set, but the Hawks came back again with eight unanswered points and won the match 15-2, 15-8, 12-15,15-12. "We stepped up a notch and a half," said coach Bob Paulson. "Not only did we play extremely well, but we started to have fun." "I saw us really click for the first time," said senior middle blocker Michelle Konn. "Although it was a loss, it was a positive game because we realized how much we could accomplish together." PUC sophomore outside hitter Shannon Whitnack had 12 digs, and Konn had 12 solo blocks and 12 kills. PUC currently has a 2-3 league record....

For nearly 50 years, Warren Miller has been meeting the cinematic demands of winter sports buffs with his creative ski films. Since 1949, when he borrowed a movie camera to film his first feature, Miller has produced more than 500 films, creating a name for himself synonymous with the winter season. On Saturday, November 2, enjoy Miller and company's latest efforts in Snowriders, his 47th annual feature length ski adventure film, which will be shown in Pacific Union College's Dauphinee Chapel at 7 and 9 p.m. Snowriders highlights more variations on snow riding than any previous Miller film, with footage of athletes performing their alpine exploits on traditional skis, snowboards, telemark skis, powder-cutting fat skis, monoskis, snowshoes, sleighs, inner tubes, sleds, garbage bags and more. And the locations featured are just as diverse. "Snowriders has plenty of action stretching from one end of the globe to the other...wherever we found snow," stated Warren's son, Kurt Miller, and his partner, Peter Speek, who have headed Warren Miller Entertainment since 1989. The conditions were right in over fifteen locales, with snow riders taking on challenging terrain in the United States and Canada, including snowscapes in Alaska, the Rockies, the Cascades, the Green...

The Pacific Union College Lady Pioneers basketball team evened their record to 2-2 as they played the La Sierra University Eagles, winning 59-38 on Nov. 23. After winning the tip-off, PUC sophomore forward Heather Isaacs was called for an offensive foul. LSU was unable to score on the opportunity and the game remained close for most of the first half. After several traveling calls against LSU, PUC began to edge away. At the end of the first half, PUC led the Eagles 35-17. The Lady Pioneers never looked back. Lucy Tuipulotu came in off the bench for PUC and scored 8 points. Tuipulotu also pulled down 6 rebounds. "She was unstoppable," said Lady Pioneer fan Earl Pasamonte. The Lady Pioneers showed off their depth as their bench scored 27 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. "We showed a lot of poise, but that doesn't win games," said LSU Coach Mary Flatley. The LSU Eagles have a record of 0-5....

Christian and R&B recording artist CeCe Winans will perform in Pacific Union College's church sanctuary on Thursday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. Winans, best known as half of the multi-award winning brother/sister duo BeBe & CeCe Winans, recently received a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album entitled "Alone In His Presence." "Alone In His Presence" contains traditional hymns and ballads, a different taste from the R&B gospel tunes Winans has previously recorded. The record pays tribute to her most valued possessions--her family and her faith. "The message of the whole album (is) to get alone in His presence ... and focus on what's really important," Winans said. Winans, 31, has a career total of seven Grammy Awards, seven Christian music Dove Awards, five Stellar Awards, and three NAACP Image Awards since her debut with her brother BeBe in 1987. She still plans to record and tour with her brother in the future. "We are still a duo," Winans said. "We just wanted to establish ourselves as individuals." Winans hopes "Alone In His Presence" will cross the lines of race, color and denomination. "I just hope that everybody will be reached," she says. "There shouldn't be any boundaries,...