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2023

Susan Bussell is Pacific Union Collegeâs 2023 Educator of the Year
By Laura Gang on May 18, 2023
Professor of Nursing Susan Bussell was honored as Pacific Union College Educator of the Year at a special Community program in the PUC Church on May 18.Milbert Mariano, vice president for academic administration and academic dean, said Bussell demonstrates the highest level of professionalism and expertise in her field. âShe's a true advocate for nursing education, and her enthusiasm for the profession is evident in her work with students,â he said. âShe has a gift for inspiring and motivating her students and has been a mentor to many young nurses throughout her career as an educator.â This year marks the second time in the collegeâs history that a professor of nursing has been selected as the Educator of the Year. Last yearâs honoree, Professor of Nursing Serah Choi, spoke about her journey from being a nurse to becoming an educator and looking to Jesus as her mentor. She reminded students that a little progress every day can eventually yield significant results.Mariano and Choi presented Bussell with a framed certificate, balloons, and a bouquet of sunflowers and red roses. She was also honored with a superhero cape and a lightsaberâall traditional gifts bestowed on the collegeâs previous honorees. Bussellâs husband, Ty,...
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Angwin to Angwish Trail Run
By Laura Gang on May 18, 2023
After a four-year hiatus, the annual Angwin to Angwish trail run made a triumphant return to Pacific Union College. Due to wildfire threats and the COVID-19 pandemic, 2018 was the last time this event was held.But early on a sunshine-filled Sunday, May 7, 100 runners of all ages from the college and in the greater community gathered atop the mountain to run and have fun. All funds from the race went to support the PUC department of athletics.Race director Abraham Garrido, also PUCâs head coach for both menâs and womenâs cross-country teams, said he was surprised and excited about the number of participants. âThey all had a great time, and that's something that stood out,â he said.Angwin to Angwish, which began in 1974, is a beautiful forested trail run through PUCâs backwoods property. This yearâs event offered four races of varied difficulty and terrain. A 10k, half marathon, and 30k took runners up and over the aptly named âAngwish Hill.â There was also a 1-mile fun run for kids.âPUC has managed the forest well, opened it up to the surrounding area; itâs a huge community asset,â said Napa County Supervisor Anne Cottrell. âItâs great to feature it as part of...
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PUC and Adventist Health Expand Nursing Program to Lake and Mendocino Counties
By Laura Gang on May 17, 2023
Pacific Union College and Adventist Health have announced a new partnership to better serve rural communities in Central and Northern California, including in Lake and Mendocino counties. This collaboration will further the college's goals of growing its nursing program and help meet the rising need for highly qualified healthcare professionals in these areas. âPartnering with nursing schools is the best way for hospitals to ensure there is a pipeline for recruitment of nurses,â said PUC Department of Nursing Chair Kimberly Dunker. âBecause of the long-standing history between our Adventist organizations, we are able to not only partner but share the same values and beliefs for nursing education and talent acquisition.â The Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) program will be open to Adventist Health employees and community members in the local areas of Lake and Mendocino counties looking to move into the nursing field. Classes will begin in September. Judson Howe, president of the North Coast Network for Adventist Health, said creating a local nursing workforce is one of the organizationâs top priorities. âThe nursing program at Pacific Union College creates an additional avenue for our community members to receive a world-class registered nursing education,â Howe said. âAdventist Health North...
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World Languages Department Redesigns Language & Culture Studies BA
By Ally Romanes on May 10, 2023
Pacific Union College is excited about the new interdisciplinary, customizable Language & Culture Studies BA. In the new program, students select a language emphasis plus a second area selected from a large list â or they can propose their own second emphasis. âWe have very creative students out there who see the connection between Italian and music, but maybe also between Spanish and environmental science, for example,â says Chair and Professor of World Languages Sylvia Rasi Gregorutti. âWe all love to have an individualized, âcurated,â experienceâso this is the equivalent in a B.A. degree!âThe Language & Culture Studies B.A. includes an academic year of study abroad at a host campus, amazing trips in the tuition itself, and the degree is structured so as to be easily combined with a second major. âI would have been so excited to have an option like this as a studentâso at least now Iâm able to create and offer it!â shares Gregorutti. Since PUC is a member of the Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) consortium, the department offers a degree encompassing experiences at host campuses abroad where coursework is offered in Arabic, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. (ACA also offers Biblical Hebrew during a summer course...
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PUC Recognizes Student-Athletes at Awards Banquet
By Ally Romanes on May 10, 2023
Student-athletes are the penultimate students on campus in part because they have so much to juggle. If you ask Pioneers at Pacific Union College what the hardest part about being a student-athlete is, they will say balancing time between school and sports. During a regular sports season, they must balance homework, class, labs, and extracurricularsâall while honing their athletic craft with all their practices, conditioning, weightlifting, games, and travels. They are also leaders and are often the public face of the college more than other students. While at PUC, theyâve experienced a lot of pressure to achieve, and these students have done so at very high levels. Many of PUCâs student-athletes are in the 3.5+ and 4.0 range. A fantastic 85% of student-athletes were awarded at the Pioneers Athlete Awards Banquet April 30 at the Angwin Fire Station. This annual awards banquet recognizes the Pioneers athletes for all their hard work throughout the year. Student-athletes receive sports-related and academic-based awards. The academic awards are for juniors and seniors; it shows that they have been able to achieve a high standing in academics, while still competing at the collegiate level.Joonsuh âBenâ Huh was named Presidential Scholar Athlete of the Year. As a junior...
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PUCâs Ninth Mission Trip to Fiji: Building Relationships with Service and Love
By Laura Gang on May 4, 2023
In March, over spring vacation, a group of students and faculty from Pacific Union College traveled to Mana Island, Fiji, for a 10-day mission trip.Itâs been nearly a decade since the first PUC trip to this remote location. Mana is very small, with only a population of about 500 people. Each mission trip has focused on meeting their needs in a variety of areas. A deep connection between PUC and the community has developed with each return trip to the island.Under the leadership of former Missions Director Fabio Maia and two co-leaders, Biology Professor Floyd Hayes and Nursing Professor Sandra Ringer, this yearâs mission trip included 12 nursing students and three non-nursing students. Nicolette Piaubert, a nursing professor at PUC, also went on the trip and helped lead healthcare services.âThis year, we focused mostly on providing medical and dental care for the residents of the island, working as a team with American and Brazilian health care professionals,â Hayes said. âWe also provided laptop computers, snorkeling gear, solar power systems, Vacation Bible School, and trash removal.âAt a spring Week of Prayer program in April, Ringer told students about the recent trip to Fiji and said there is virtually no healthcare on...
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Week of Prayer Pastor Addresses Difficult Topics with Empathy and Encouragement
By Laura Gang on May 4, 2023
When pastors address a difficult subject in their messages, they must do so with great care and preparation, especially if there are no easy answers. Itâs not often that a pastor addresses five complex topics in a week. But Pastor Josie Ascencio did precisely that. Pacific Union College held its annual spring Week of Prayer from April 17-21. Students led out in praise and worship songs and icebreaker activities each day. Ascencio, head pastor of the Antioch Seventh-day Adventist Church, spoke on the yearâs theme of âRevival.â Her topics included brokenness, isolation, and despairâand the importance of building community and connection by reaching out. Each message centered on a biblical story of physical and emotional healing. Ascencio began with the story of Jacob, who was far from perfect and so concerned with himself that he even swindled his father out of his brotherâs birthright. But then, Ascencio said, came the struggle in the desert and the dream revealing angels descending and ascending a ladder from heaven to earth. God showed Jacob he was still with him. âYouâre a stealer? Iâll make you a giver! All the world will be blessed,â Ascencio said. In Jacob, she continued, we learn that God continues...
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Homecoming: PUC Alumni Gather Together to Reconnect, Reminisce, and Reflect
By Laura Gang on April 27, 2023
Pacific Union College welcomed alumni back to the mountain for a beautiful Homecoming Weekend on April 21-22.Vice President for Alumni and Advancement Kellie Lind said it was wonderful to be together again. Now that people are traveling more, it made for a much better reunion this year.âIt was fun for the alumni to interact and meet future PUC alumni and our current students during the weekend,â said Lind. âOur students were very involved in programming, which made the weekend even more special!âThe celebratory weekend began Friday afternoon with PUC Forest guided tours. On the drive, alumni shared memories from their days at the college while enjoying scenic woods and the view of the mountains from Inspiration Point.After the Pioneer Dinner in the fireside room, alums gathered for vespers in the PUC Church in the evening. President Ralph Trecartin warmly greeted attendees and spoke on the eveningâs mission theme. âFrom the beginning,â Trecartin said, âservice has been at the center of PUC education.âThroughout the history of the college, many PUC graduates have made sacrifices to make service the mission of their life and work, Trecartin continued. And that spirit of mission hasnât left. âItâs still here after 14 decades.âA PUC Praise...
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A Restored Supply Wagon Brings Back a Lifetime of Memories to PUC Alum
By Ally Romanes on April 25, 2023
Paul Damazo visited Pacific Union College in February to meet with President Ralph Trecartin and Vice President for Financial Administration Joy Hirdler. Much to his surprise, Dale Withers, PUC facilities director, kindly brought out the old supply wagon, which used to carry produce and milk from PUCâs garden and dairy farm. Damazzo used to sit on the seat with his father when he was a PUC student. Mr. Damazo drove the delivery wagon with a team of horses down to St. Helena to deliver goods.Damazo, now in his late 90s, told stories of how he had helped PUCâs church and college through the years. He founded a food service company that supplied organizations, businesses, and schools. Some of the Adventist schools employed student workers who wouldnât have been able to attend otherwise.The wagon brought supplies up the hill from St. Helena beginning 1909, and Damazoâs father drove it up the hill and back each weekday. PUC was strapped for funds then and would not have had the money for a new wagon."I suspect the wagon either came with the property, which I know a lot of stuff did, or PUC bought it used," shared Withers. It was the college's main...
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PUC Names Hernan Granados as New Athletic Director
By Ally Romanes on April 25, 2023
No one was more surprised than Hernan Granados, when he was offered the opportunity to become Pacific Union College's new athletic director.Granados has been working at Pacific Union College for 17 years. He was hired in 2006 to be the residence hall dean at Newton Hall, and taught religion classes. During the last two years he has been the assistant soccer coach for the men's and womenâs teams.With Granados in mind, Vice President for Student Life Ryan Smith reviewed three things when deciding who would be best suited to continue moving the athletics program forward. First, Hernan's training and experience as a residence hall dean give him the ability to connect and develop students. Second, his educational background is in theology; he holds a Master of Divinity degree. This training and experience as an athlete make Granados a promising athletic director.Even though he loves sports, he also loves being a dean. After discussing the role with his family, mentors, and praying a lot, Granados made the decision to accept the position of athletic director. "I look forward to working with him to make Pioneer Athletics a premiere program,â says Dr. Smith.Having a deep love for sports, Granados is most looking...
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