Life at PUC

Not everyone who graduates from PUC is a young, energetic senior ready to take on the world. Some of those graduates have already taken on the world, working real jobs, raising kids and supporting a family. That’s where PUC’s Center for Continuing and Professional Education comes in. It allows people to continue living their lives, yet go to school at the same time. The CAPE program was founded in 1996 to reach those “nontraditional students,” generally working parents who want to finish their education. Classes usually meet one night a week from 6–10 p.m. in three different locations: Clearlake, Santa Rosa and Napa. This year, an all-time record of 47 CAPE students completed their graduation requirements and received their bachelor’s degrees from PUC. Twenty-one Bachelor of Science in Management (BSM) students, 24 Early Childhood Education (ECE) students, and two students from the former Criminal Justice Administration program all received their diplomas; a grand total that beats the previous record by a margin of 10 people. Among the graduates are some who deserve special recognition. One is Carol Johnson, who has worked as a CAPE program representative for the last eight years, helping others through the program while she worked to...

As renovations change the face of many areas on campus, another change occurs behind the scenes, one that makes an institution like Pacific Union College really great: new faces. The new “arrivees” bring with them a wide array of personalities, talents, and experiences. Here’s the scoop: Tim Mitchell has filled the long-awaited senior pastor position for the PUC Church. Pastor Mitchell is no stranger to Angwin, having graduated from PUC in 1976 with a B.A. in theology. He went on to Andrews University to get his master of divinity in 1979. Coming to PUC from the Sunnyvale Adventist Church, where he pastored for 15 years, his warmth and enthusiasm are truly appreciated by the students and college community. Tim was born in Fresno and pastored in Sonora, Turlock and Orosi. Tim’s family includes his wife, Carleen, and two sons, Brent and Tyler. Carleen works as a medical administrator. Brent is a sophomore at PUC, while younger brother Tyler attends high school at PUC Preparatory School. Truly part of an international family, reference librarian Gilbert Abella, has attended 16 schools on four continents and is fluent in three languages, thanks to his Portuguese family who served as missionaries in Europe, Africa,...

Dmitry Lossov calls himself a double agent. Oh, it’s true, he’s from Russia, and he currently lives in the United States. But, whom does he serve – Russia, America or both? Actually, neither. With an incessant smile and sense of humor, Dmitry serves God wherever he is. In America, this Russian student witnesses to his fellow students and professors. And as a PUC student missionary, he witnesses to the people in Thailand, in Ghana and in the Philippines. He’s hooked. Although PUC sent out 34 long-term student missionaries last year to 20 countries, plus many more short-term missionaries, Dmitry’s challenge in Ghana was one of the greatest: preaching in English (not his native language) through a translator, to a people who did not understand English. It almost sounds reminiscent of speaking in tongues – but with God all things are possible. As a result of these sermons, 65 people gave their lives to Jesus and were baptized into the Adventist church. The people in Breman, Ghana, obviously loved this cheerful fellow with the thick Russian accent, so much that a year after he left they renamed their local school the Dmitry Adventist Preparatory School. What an honor for a Russian...

Christopher Jones, recent PUC graduate, was featured in the September 2 issue of The Wall Street Journal as one of the 2003 Student Achievement Award Winners. Chris graduated suma cum laude with a B.B.A. emphasis in Accounting. Chris was part of both the English and Business honor societies and has been featured in Who’s Who for both 2000 and 2001. In 2001, he also won the Business department commendation award as well as the Pam Wheeler Accounting Scholarship. Chris came to PUC to check out the school during college days. He liked the Napa Valley and PUC and they enticed this Canadian from Toronto to stay. He was involved at PUC in the Business Club, Student Senate and the dormitory as well as tutoring accounting. Chris is currently working as an auditor for Adventist Health and trying to get a feel for the health care industry. He is studying to take his CPA in November....

For the tenth straight year, Pacific Union College continues to rank in the top tier in U.S. News and World Report’s annual edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” The national magazine’s 2004 rankings place PUC as the number two comprehensive college offering bachelor degrees in California. It also places PUC in the top 10 among the 14 Western states. Along with these overall standings, PUC ranks in the top tier for: ethnic diversity, best value, student/faculty ratio, low debt ratio and full-time faculty. “The indicators include input measures that reflect a school's student body, its faculty, and its financial resources and outcome measures that signal how well the institution does its job of educating students,” said Robert Morse, U.S. News editor. The criteria used to measure academic quality include: acceptance rate, alumni giving, faculty with Ph.D.'s, retention and graduation rate, SAT/ACT scores, and student/faculty ratio. Although the most recent America’s Best Colleges 2004 edition was published in August, it reflects data from the 2002-2003 school year....

It's finally the end of my first week teaching out at the villages, and I am back in Manila. At first, it was kind of nice: warm showers, flush toilets, e-mail and soft beds. But I've learned first hand that it's not those "necessities" that make life enjoyable; it's the warmth of friendships and love. I miss my kids. I never felt it so much before as after spending two days in Manila. Tim De La Torre, a PUC student missionary in the Philippines, wrote these words in a letter to friends and family in the United States. A junior, digital video technology major, Tim previously traveled to Mindoro, an island in the Philippines, in December 2002. He, with two other students and one teacher, documented the mission work being done by Laymen Ministries. As a result of that experience, Tim returned as a student missionary this year, living and working in villages, doing friendship evangelism, teaching English, and making videos to promote mission work. His letter continues: At first Manila was exciting--culture shock. Sure, I had been in the Philippines for a month and a half already, but I had never seen such a contrast between poverty and riches:...

Pacific Union College’s Rasmussen Art Gallery will be displaying “Generations: A Family of Artists” from October 4 to October 26. The show will exhibit the work of John, Bryan, Will, and Jacquelyn Hewitt, four talented members of the same family. Their artwork reportoire includes watercolor and oil painting, sculpture, photography and ink drawing. The Hewitts are a diverse family. John is an E.R. doctor who teaches PUC’s annual summer art classes at the Albion Field Station in Mendocino. His three children decidedly have artistic blood running through their veins: Jacquelyn graduated from PUC with both an art degree and an English degree and is currently studying for her MFA in Ireland; William is a political activist who spent time in Palestine this past year and has done ink drawings of the Palestinian people; and Bryan is pursuing his MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute....

Pacific Union College’s Rasmussen Art Gallery presents “Gesture and My World” from November 1 to December 7. The show will exhibit the artwork of Martha Mason, a PUC alumna who is currently teaching at Walla Walla College in Washington. “Gesture and My Word” will consist predominantly of Mason’s very recent work in acrylic and mixed media painting. Mason works spontaneously and directly, looking for “interrelationships, fast moving energy flow, and breaks in space.” The energy and texture that develop in her paintings lead to what the artist calls “atmosphere charged with feeling.” One of the things Mason has been working on is a series of “portraits” — works that are about individuals, but not based on actual models. Mason says she is “trying to take [portraiture] away from likeness but find a spot where a quality of personality is found amidst the paint.” Several of these works will be included in the Rasmussen show....

Pacific Union College will be featuring a unique, one-day women’s workshop called THRiVE! Pursuing Purposeful Relationships, on November 15. PUC’s Dauphinee Chapel will serve as one of the satellite sites for this live simulcast, which is hosted by Injoy and Today’s Christian Woman magazine and features eight dynamic speakers. The goal of the program is to help women deepen their purpose, extend their influence, and inspire those around them. Individuals who attend the THRiVE! Simulcast will be treated to inspiring messages from Kay Arthur, Stormie Omartian, Jill Briscoe, Michelle McKinney Hammond, Florence Littauer, Delilah, Gary Smalley and John C. Maxwell, with a worship feature by Crystal Lewis. ...

Pacific Union College’s fine art series presents soprano soloist Marnie Breckenridge on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. in the college’s music auditorium, Paulin Hall. There is no charge for admission. Breckenridge graduated from PUC with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1993. She moved on to receive a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1996. That same year she made her San Francisco Opera debut during the production of Ida of Die Fiedermaus. Breckenridge is the recipient of several prestigious awards, which include being the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalist, winner of the IIE International Travel Award, and a MacAllister Awards Regional finalist. ...