Academics

This story was originally published in PUC's Campus Chronicle.On November 1, 2019, freshman Justin Roosma won a record-breaking first place in the Cal Pac championships. Competing against 81 competitors from 11 different schools, Roosma won first place in the 8k race by three seconds. Not only did Roosma win the Cal Pac championships, he also broke a Cal Pac cross country record with the time of only 24:56.5—the fastest in Cal Pac history. Additionally, Roosma is the first freshman and PUC athlete to win the Cal Pac title.The ChampionshipThe California Pacific Conference Men’s Cross Country Championship was held at Woodward Park in Fresno, California. The race was initially led by Santiago Hardy from Antelope Valley and Grady Kerst from Embry-Riddle. Half-way through the race, Roosma quickly advanced from the middle of the pack to the lead. Roosma not only won the Cal Pac title by a whole 16 seconds, but also qualified for the NAIA Championships.This Cal Pac championship was the fastest in Cal Pac history. This was the first time that two runners crossed the finish line in under 25 minutes. The 2019 Cal Pac Championship now holds the fastest times ever recorded, with Pacific Union College, Justin Roosma,...

This story was originally published in PUC's Campus Chronicle.Senior business major and student athlete Joshua Mitchell flew out to D.C. Oct. 16-19 for a leadership conference.Mitchell did two video interviews and two in-person interviews before the conference board made the final decision to invite him. The all-expenses-paid trip included five nights in the Washington Marriott Wardman Park and meals that Mitchell describes as “too bougie”— multiple forks and all.Where His Passion StartedRaised in New York—South Bronx, to be specific— Mitchell emphasizes the importance of pointing out his neighborhood because of hometown pride, and to acknowledge the impoverishment. Although many of his friends passed away or were incarcerated, Mitchell always knew he was different.“There was violence in my neighborhood every day. So I made a change. I wanted to get my family out,” he explains. “I just don’t want kids to go through what I went through.”His altruism and passion for business rightfully earned him a spot in the D.C. conference—a chance to network with people who could help him make a difference back home.The ExperienceThe conference offered networking opportunities with both businesses and graduate school recruiters. Fortune 500 companies like AIG, Boeing, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan Chase had representatives...

On Nov. 9, painter Davis Perkins will host an opening reception and artist talk at 7 p.m. in the Rasmussen Art Gallery on the campus of Pacific Union College. Admission is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.Always drawing as a kid, Davis Perkins doesn’t remember a time when art wasn’t a part of his life. Perkins attended University of Oregon, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, and he has now made art a career. He has original artwork in a permanent collection at the Smithsonian as well as in the Pentagon, and has done one-man shows at the Alaska State Museum and the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum.“I consider myself a traditional landscape painter,” Perkins says. “Much of my life has been spent outdoors, and the wonders of nature inspire me.”His exhibit, Landscapes: A Moment in Time, will be on display through December 8 (the gallery will be closed Nov. 23-Dec. 1 for Thanksgiving break). Gallery hours are 2-6:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.To enjoy a Q&A with the artist, visit puc.edu/blog.For more information regarding the arts on the PUC campus, contact the department of visual arts at 707-965-6604 or the department of music at...

Back from summer break, energetic students gathered outside the Campus Center for Club Rush, an opportunity to get involved with all kinds of clubs at PUC. One of these, a science club called SPARK, gives volunteers the chance to apply concepts they are learning through teaching others.SPARK is an acronym for Science Presentations and Research for Kids. “We get to teach kids about Chemistry, Technology, and Biology,” says club co-president Justin Youn. “The goal is to get kids excited about science.”Youn and co-president Emma Tyner got involved with the club their freshman year of college and started leading out last year. They work mainly with local elementary schools and visiting academies who ask them to give presentations to students. Integrated into their talks are fascinating lab activities like color changes, explosions, and chemical reactions, as well as seeing and observing animals from the department of biology.“This year, we are planning to get the department of physics more involved as well so that the activities can be more interactive and hands-on,” says Youn.SPARK has also made connections beyond PUC. Last year, they were excited to be invited to the Loma Linda Academy Maker Fair, where they did a demonstration about cyanotype...

Sunday, October 20, marked the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the newest section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail, an extensive hiking route spanning from Calistoga in the north all the way to Gilroy in the south. The trail runs through PUC’s Back 40, and is part of a larger conservation effort that will eventually include 1,100 acres of protected forest lands.PUC’s forest manager, Peter Lecourt, headed the dedication with a speech detailing upcoming plans for the forest. Along with informational kiosks and maps, plans for additional parking are underway, in an effort to make the natural beauty of the PUC area as accessible for recreation as possible.Kellie Lind, PUC’s vice president for alumni and advancement, commented on PUC’s rich history with the surrounding land.“Not only were many of PUC’s academic buildings constructed using lumber from the back 40, but last year 14 classes used the forest as part of their curriculum just during Fall Quarter,” she noted.A number of Napa Valley officials attended the ceremony, including Napa Open Spaces District Vice President Barry Christian, Bay Area Ridge Trail executive director Janet McBride, county supervisor Dianne Dillon, and chairman of the board of Napa Supervisors Ryan Gregory.Dillon commented on the importance and...

Pastor Kent Rufo led this fall quarter’s Week of Prayer with a powerful sermon series entitled, “The Broken Gospel.” Held in the PUC church, students gathered each morning of the week for an hour of worship, community-building, and scriptural study.Beginning with Monday’s service, each meeting built upon the previous day’s message. Pastor Rufo quoted from Revelation 21:4, and explained his sermons rested on the premise found in the verse which holds that God ultimately wishes to do away with death, sorrow, crying, and pain. He noted that we all live in an imperfect world, plagued by these difficulties, and part of our journey as Christians involves learning how to navigate through these troublesome issues.Pastor Rufo continued on Tuesday with the assertion that, as humans, we all cope. He listed a variety of “numbing agents” people typically turn to, but concluded the only true healing comes from God. He explained, “We only have one healer, and everything else is simply a substitute for true healing.”Wednesday expanded this concept of healing to the Gospel, and Pastor Rufo explained the good news, or the essence of the Gospel, is that Jesus willingly became our brokenness so we would not suffer under its weight...

The department of visual arts at Pacific Union College invites the community to an art exhibit opening reception for photographer Douglas Sandquist on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. The event will take place in the Rasmussen Art Gallery on the college campus, and will feature an artist talk and refreshments. This reception is free and open to the public.Sandquist attended PUC as a bio-chem major in the early 90s, but was accepted into dental school after his junior year, so he never completed his degree at PUC. He went on to become a dentist back in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, where today he curates the unexpected combination of his dental career and photography.“Most dental photography is macro photography, but it’s also portrait photography,” Sandquist explains. “I originally wanted to learn how to take better clinical photos, so I delved into learning how to better use a camera, how to compose a shot, and how to work with different lighting. One thing led to another, and I started to enjoy photography outside the office just as much as in it.”In 2016, a photo Sandquist took in Iceland with his iPhone and shared via Instagram was requested by Apple...

PUC’s newly christened Community Speaker Series (familiarly called “Community”) held its opening convocation in the PUC Church on Thursday, Oct. 3. Previously called Colloquy, the goal of Community is indicated in its title: to build a network of close-knit relationships between students and faculty across the college’s campus. Essentially, it seeks to build “ONEPUC.”After a Community Brief video featuring athletic director Richie Sillie detailing the upcoming week’s events, President Bob Cushman took to the stage to welcome new staff, faculty, and students, as well as recognize members of this year’s graduating senior class. Each group was asked to stand for applause as he recognized their role on the PUC campus.As the audience settled into their seats, Student Association President Megan Belz read from Matthew 22:37-39 and concluded by praying over the church family. With the message of love at the forefront, a video of chaplain Kent Rufo played in which he reminded the campus that they are all members of one body that is committed to each other as the PUC family.President Cushman then returned to the stage with a short, but impactful message that spoke to the heart of PUC’s goals as it looks towards a new academic year....

This year’s Pathfinder Camporee at Oshkosh in Wisconsin hosted a film crew from PUC’s own department of visual arts. A group of four students, one alum, and faculty director Tim de la Torre were tasked with creating nine-minute videos to highlight five days of the annual pathfinder meeting, under the direction of Erik Stenbakken from Stenbakken Media. These “Day in Review” videos were displayed every evening, showcasing not only Camporee events and activities, but also the talents of the small film crew on hand.Sophomore film and television major, Adam Adreveno, helped the team navigate the many challenges that entail when filming among a group of 50,000 people.“My job was basically to do what needed to be done as quickly as possible. I would go out to film different stories ranging from ‘Camp Life’ to ‘Woohoo: Fun Stuff to Do’ and then edit them together if I had time,” he continued, “I learned how to manage long days and pressure in order to deliver a specific video that needed to be completed by a deadline. Working at the Camporee was like a crash course on how to make good videos quickly.”Alum Gabriela Talavera mirrored Adreveno’s sentiments about working under constrained timing....

Amanda Schaff, 2014 biology graduate, has been fascinated by science for as long as she can remember. She has also always known she wanted to be a veterinarian. So, when the time came to head to college, she chose PUC, and enrolled as a biology major.“I love cats and dogs, but I’ve always wanted something a little different than regular veterinary medicine,” she says. While a student at PUC, Schaff took a trip to South Africa, working with wildlife veterinarians treating African wildlife.“That was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” she says. “That trip was what cemented my future as a wildlife or zoo veterinarian.”Following graduation, Schaff was accepted into a fellowship at the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) on Sanibel Island off the southwestern coast of Florida. It was a rare paid fellowship at one of the few wildlife hospitals in the U.S.“There are many wildlife rehabilitation clinics, but they don’t always have vets; usually they operate with certified wildlife rehab specialists,” Schaff explains. “At CROW, they have several veterinarians on staff.”During her six-month fellowship, Schaff assisted with surgeries, treatment of rehabilitating animals, neonatal care, feeding, medicating, and exams. It wasn’t as glamorous as it...