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Sonia Barajas is doing something no one in her family has ever done before. She is going to college. A pre-med student, Barajas is majoring in biology at Pacific Union College, an accomplishment which has distinguished her in her family and has also earned her a $5,000 Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship.By attending Pacific Union College, Barajas is fulfilling a life-long dream. "I wanted to attend a university since I was a little girl," she says. "I noticed that none of my family members went to a university, so I wanted to break that chain." Barajas' parents are Adventist immigrants from Mexico. She says that they have always worked very hard as farm workers, but have only received very low wages.It is for low-income Latino families like her own that Barajas is attending school.Barajas is planning to return to the Latino community with her bilingual skills and a medical degree. For her, practicing medicine is not about an income but about a ministry. She is willing to talk about the nice house and comfortable life that many of her classmates will obtain, but she carefully points out, "Giving to people is something I would like better. God has something for everybody......

During the annual Career Day colloquy at Pacific Union College, Alan Nakanishi, Assemblyperson for California’s Tenth Assembly District, reminded students that the key to success is to trust in God’s leading. “You and I serve a powerful God. If he can take a poor boy from the ghettos of Sacramento to PUC to Loma Linda to the halls of the state capital, then he can do more for you,” said Nakanishi, who was the special guest speaker at the event. Nakanishi shared his own career journey, which started at PUC nearly fifty years ago. He had just graduated from high school and was contemplating whether he should attend the local university in Sacramento or PUC. “My family couldn’t afford for me to be at PUC. But I had a conviction that God wanted me to be at a Christian college,” he said. So at 17 years old, Nakanishi enrolled at PUC with just enough money to last one quarter and the determination to be a doctor. Nakanishi managed to stay the entire year. To earn money for college, he cleaned classrooms, bussed tables, sold books door to door, and worked as a lab instructor. Each fall, he wondered if he...

Ashley Riveira once paced the tree-shaded sidewalks and staircases of PUC’s campus, taking time to chat with a friend or rushing to make an early class. Now she strolls the halls and offices of a law firm in Washington D.C., practicing both international law and labor and employment law in one of the country’s most exciting legal climates. Her story became even more remarkable this May when Riveira, along with nine more of America’s most promising young professional women, won Running Start’s “Women to Watch” award. The award is given to young women who use their positions of leadership to aid the cause of women’s rights. Riveira was recognized for “Presumed Equal: What America's Top Women Lawyers Really Think About Their Firms,” the book that she co-wrote with a classmate from Harvard Law School. Of course, Riveira’s transformation from PUC-ite to nationally recognized up-and-comer did not happen overnight. After her graduation from PUC in 2001, she spent a couple years in the Napa Valley before applying and being accepted to Harvard School of Law. The transition from a small liberal arts college, quietly nestled in the hills of the Napa Valley, to one of America’s most prestigious and competitive law...

Today’s youth are constantly in the crossfire of public opinion. The “millennial generation” is criticized in the media, which depicts them as narcissistic and shallow. But at Pacific Union College, campus chaplain Roy Ice sees something in today’s youth that others have missed. “Millenials are much more willing to serve than previous generations. Ninety-two percent say they will volunteer if they believe in the cause,” he reports. At PUC, students are already living up to the numbers, with grassroots volunteer groups becoming ubiquitous on campus. Sensing a cultural shift among students, PUC leadership is strengthening their focus on service, which has always been one of PUC’s core values. In philanthropy, large donations and publicity-laden events garner the lion’s share of attention. Though PUC doesn't discourage this kind of service, the college aims to redefine how a person can make a difference. Pastor Ice points to Galatians 6:2 as a guide for the campus’s direction: “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Various service groups have sprung up around campus to meet this challenge. Dean Annette Riebe of Andre Hall leads “A Stitch in Time,” a group of students who use their talents with a...

D. Malcolm Maxwell, president emeritus of Pacific Union College, passed away on Monday, October 1, 2007, at his home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 73 years old.Maxwell was the first PUC alumnus to serve as president, and he had the longest tenure-18 years-of any president. He retired from the presidency in 2001 but continued to work at PUC as a professor in the religion department until 2006. In April of 2007, Maxwell and Eileen, his wife of nearly 52 years, were in the process of moving to Scottsdale to be near family when Eileen passed away. Maxwell, son of famed Seventh-day Adventist author Arthur C. Maxwell, graduated from PUC in 1956 with degrees in theology and biblical languages. He completed his master of arts in systematic theology at Andrews University and earned his doctorate in biblical studies, specializing in New Testament, at Drew University. At Drew, Maxwell was honored as a Rockefeller Fellow and Drew University Scholar. Maxwell taught religion at Union and Walla Walla Colleges. After 13 years in the classroom, he stepped into administration, serving as academic dean and vice president for academic administration at Walla Walla College. In 1983, he accepted the call to serve as president...

Students, faculty, and staff gathered in Commencement Grove Monday night for a Western-themed get-acquainted party. As plates got piled high with cornbread, corn on the cob, fresh salads, penne pasta, and apple cobbler, the Pioneer mascot made an appearance, working the crowd, giving high-fives, posing for pictures. Cowboy hats, boots, and flannel were sported by many students who got into the spirit of the occasion. Carrie Moore, a junior graphic design and photography major, enjoyed dressing up and “howdy-ing” all her friends, old and new. “It’s a lot of fun to get to start the year off like this,” Moore said. “I don’t know if I’ll get up the nerve to ride the bull, though.” Even if Moore didn’t decide to ride the bull (that’s a mechanical bull for all the nervous parents out there), it seemed like the rest of the student body did, lining up to try staying on the bucking, twisting, spinning bovine attraction operated by a former professional bull rider. Every now and then cheers and shouts would start in earnest for a student who had managed to stay on for 30 seconds or more. Even the future PUC students got in on the action (albeit...

David Pizarro is graduating summa cum laude this year with a B.S. degree in psychology. Pizarro was accepted to the Yale University Graduate School of Psychology's doctoral program and was given a University Fellowship which covers his tuition for the entire program and pays him a stipend as well. Pizarro hopes to teach and do research in psychology after he graduates. "I'd like to thank my teachers for preparing me for graduate school, and I'd like to thank God for opening doors in my life," he said.Rob Wells fulfilled the prerequisites for dental school at PUC. He will attend Loma Linda University School of Dentistry this fall, after spending his fifth summer with Camp Wawona's aquatics program. Wells is looking forward to entering the field of dentistry because it is interesting and it will allow him to devote time to family.In 1996, Sylvianne Pizarro graduated summa cum laude from Pacific Union College with a bachelor of business administration degree with an accounting emphasis. She is now studying law at Harvard University, and she hopes to work in the field of corporate law after graduation in 1999. "I would like to work in a law firm in San Francisco, Los Angeles,...

Conclusive evidence has recently surfaced proving that Greg King, associate professor of biblical studies, has had a secret life as a baseball player for many years.Sources have confirmed that King has been involved in baseball from a very early age. He played in Little League and Pony League, and won at least five trophies. "I don't want to exaggerate anything, but I was pretty good back then," he is reported to have said. "I had dreams about being a major-league player, and tried to figure out ways to avoid playing on Sabbath."While he may not win as many trophies now as he once did, King's fondness for the ball diamond persists as strong as ever. He was recently spotted at Turner Field watching a Braves' game while in Atlanta (purportedly for a speaking appointment), and plays in the "Old Men's League" (for those 35 and older) in St. Helena. Unfortunately for King and his fellow sluggers, this year's season was curtailed early because a fire at the elementary school where they play made it necessary to convert their ballfield into a trailer park.The most convincing symptom of King's baseball fervor is a recently discovered photograph taken of him together with...

Imagine being a college student and turning down a two-week vacation so that you could peel 75 pounds of potatoes, crack 50-75 dozen eggs, and make 40 boxes' worth of pancakes in a small Panamanian town.This is exactly what Lana Fiess, senior liberal studies major at Pacific Union College, did with her spring break. Fiess was asked by Maranatha Volunteers International to go to La Chorrera, Panama, as a cook for 80 people for a building project on two churches and a school.Marantha Volunteers International provides willing volunteers with opportunities to spread the Gospel and contribute their time and talent to construct urgently needed buildings.Fiess accepted the offer, ready for the challenge the job would bring. She was in charge of shopping and ordering food, planning menus, organizing kitchen help, and cooking and serving three meals a day. Her kitchen facilities consisted of three burners and a small oven. Despite her meager equipment, Fiess was determined to cook more than rice and beans. "I made pizza buns, french toast, and even some authentic German potato pancakes," Fiess said.This is not Fiess' first mission experience: her missionary work has taken her to the Dominican Republic and Mexico during high school, as...

Contemporary Christian singer, Patty Cabrera, will bring her high energy music to the Pacific Union College Amphitheater on Saturday, September 20, 1997, at 4:00 p.m. Cabrera graduated from PUC in 1991, and each return is an event worth taking in.Of her music, Cabrera says she is "a product of her environment where music is concerned." She grew up with Salsa, Merengue, R&B, and Motown; and her second album, Always & Forever, released on Curb Records, reflects these influences.Cabrera's been busy since the release of her debut, self-titled album in 1991. In 1996, People selected Cabrera as one of the 50 most beautiful people. In 1995, she actively participated in the internationally televised Billy Graham Crusade in Puerto Rico, co-writing the theme song for the event and appearing in two videos. In 1994, Cabrera sang the national anthem for opening night of the Republican National Convention.Still, despite recent accolades, Cabrera's faith remains her highest priority. She describes her faith as "a process of learning how to stay open to hear what God says."...