Monthly Archives: May 2014

Kristen’s Advice – Get Involved!

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Hi! I’m Kristen Beall and I have a few thoughts I wanted to share with you.

Kristen Beall

I am just about to wrap up my Pacific Union College career in just a few short weeks. I could not be more excited to start this next step in life but that means leaving behind my beloved school. Over the past four years I have fallen in love with not only our beautiful campus but the beautiful people as well. When I say “beautiful” I am not talking about outward appearances, but inward. PUC has attracted some of the most genuine and loving people I have ever met. As one of the student chaplains on campus I have come into contact with multiple students/faculty from all different
backgrounds and I have learned something from each one of them. PUC has provided me with a lot of opportunities to get involved such as being a student chaplain, student ambassador, desk worker, tutor at the TLC tutor, and as a Life Group leader. All of these “jobs” have been such a blessing to me. I was able to help students with their homework, life problems, and even their decision on coming to PUC.

If you are reading this then you must be either planning on joining the PUC family or
at least interested in what this school has to offer; I hope I can help reassure you
that PUC is where you need to be. You see I was not planning on coming to PUC. In
fact, I was enrolled at a community college for five weeks before deciding 5 days
before school started to make PUC my home. It took some adjusting, as any
relocation would, but after settling in I fell in love with the school. There are so
many opportunities to get involved and if you take advantage of these then I
guarantee your experience will be just as amazing as mine was. If you like sports
you can join a collegiate team or intramurals for some friendly competition. If sports
are not your cup of tea we have multiple music opportunities such as wind
ensemble, orchestra, gospel choir, and many other groups to join including a jazz
band! PUC also has many clubs on campus such as the Mabuhay Club, Math Club,
Chess Club, and more.

There are so many opportunities PUC has to offer but the last one I’d like to focus on
is campus ministries. Getting involved with the campus ministries team was the
best decision I have made at PUC. The group that I have worked with is an amazing
group and I couldn’t be more proud of the spiritual leaders they have become.
Whatever your passion is, whatever you enjoy doing, we will help you make it into a
ministry. Yes, there are specific jobs that need to be filled but more importantly we
want to accommodate to you and the needs of the campus. There are multiple
chaplains around campus that are always willing to talk and help in any way they
can. There are no prerequisites, just stop in the office and we’ll get you plugged in!

If you would like more information about campus ministries and other ways you can get involved at PUC, take a look at the Campus Culture page on our Admissions site. You can also check out the Student Association Facebook page for upcoming events such as banquets, vespers speakers, and more.

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Pacific Union College

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Chances are, you already know some facts about Pacific Union College. Yes, we were ranked the “Most Beautiful College” by Newsweek in 2012. And yes, our student/teacher ratio is a remarkable 13 to 1. But what about lesser-known trivia and traditions? Here are 10 things about PUC that you probably didn’t know, and you’ll be smarter for knowing.

1. Please Remain Calm…

It’s not uncommon to find new students ducking for cover during the first few days of school, specifically on weekdays at noon. They’re just acclimating to the air raid siren that is a regular occurrence on campus. Fortunately, it doesn’t have anything to do with natural disasters or World War II invasions. It’s simply PUC’s way of letting you know it’s lunchtime! The local emergency services use it as well, as a way to let the volunteers know that they’re needed. So it’s sort of like a dinner bell/bat signal.

2. We’re Old School

PUC was founded in 1882; however it wasn’t always in Angwin. Originally PUC was located about an hour away in Healdsburg and called Healdsburg College. It wasn’t until 1909 that the college moved to Angwin and was renamed Pacific Union College. We don’t have anything funny to tell you about this…

3. We’re #1!

According to College Prowler, PUC has the number one rated intramurals program in the country! Intramurals is one of the fastest ways to get involved and meet new people while staying fit. We offer flag football, basketball, volleyball, softball, as well as some less traditional options like pickleball, flag football, and kickball. We’ve even gone as far as to play donkey basketball!

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4. Everybody’s Workin’ for the Weekend

As of October 2013, there were 1,326 active student jobs on campus filled by 833 unique students, since some have more than one job. That’s a little over half of our entire student body that is currently working on campus. But you know what they say – Mo money, mo problems.

5. Corn or Flour?

We aren’t sure exactly how it started, but it’s been a tradition at PUC for many years to throw tortillas in the air during the graduation ceremony. Bring some cheese and make a quesadilla while you wait!

Tortillas

6. Let Freedom Ring

When the school moved to Angwin in 1909, they made sure to bring a few things with them. Among the precious school heirlooms was the original college bell, and legend has it that the bell is the nephew of the famous Liberty Bell. It’s a tradition for seniors to ring the bell when they finish their last final. That’s why, during finals week, you will frequently hear the old Healdsburg Bell ringing throughout the day (along with the soft weeping of students who still have more finals left).

7. We’re Growing!

We started the 2013-2014 school year with the highest enrollment we’ve had in 24 years, which is pretty great! We have 1,678 awesome students on our campus this year and couldn’t be happier.

8. Money, Money, Money

For the 2013-2014 school year, PUC awarded students over $36 million in financial aid; $14 million of that amount was given in institutional scholarships, grants, and discounts. Most ATMs hold around $20,000, so that’s like 1,800 ATMs! We told you this blog would teach you some amazing things.

9. Darth Rieger

Bearing a striking resemblance to Darth Vader’s helmet, the Rieger organ in the PUC Church stands about 50 feet tall and has over 4,700 pipes. It’s one of the biggest mechanical tracker action pipe organs on the west coast, and it’s worth about $1.5 million (roughly a quarter of the cost of an Imperial Star Destroyer).

Organ 1

10. Winter Games

One time a student skied down to the cafeteria. We’d tell you more, but that’s all we know.

So there you have it: 10 things that you never knew you needed to know about PUC. Stay tuned if you ever wondered what’s down in the steam tunnels!

What on Earth are General Education Requirements?!

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With class registration for the fall in full swing, our office is getting a lot of questions from incoming freshmen about what courses they should take. One question we get asked frequently is “What are general education requirements?” In addition to the courses a student will take for their degree, they will also spend time taking GE courses – but what does that mean? I could just send you over to PUC’S General Catalog, but I thought I would try to break it down for you here. You can check out the Catalog for specifics.

There are basic ideas and concepts which PUC wants all of its graduates to know. These are learned through the GE courses. By the time they graduate, each student should possess:

– A knowledge of human cultures and the natural world;

– Seventh-day Adventist Christian values, including integrity, justice, compassion, and wholeness;

– The following skills:

  • To communicate effectively in both written and spoken English;
  • To think critically and creatively about information, ideas, and arguments;
  • To locate and use appropriately a broad variety of resources and information; and
  • To learn and work collaboratively.

PUC’s GE requirements are divided into eight sections: Foundations of Learning, Foundations of Faith, History and Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Math and Science, Health and Fitness, Practical and Applied Arts, and Foreign Language (BA only). When compared to public universities, what’s unique about PUC’s GE requirements are the religion courses. Every student that graduates from PUC is required to take at least 18 credits of religion. Beyond taking religion courses though, all classes at PUC are committed to strengthening a student’s connection to Christ by creating an academic community dedicated to deepening an understanding of the world He created.

Typically, students have a choice between several courses to fulfill a GE requirement, though there are times when a choice isn’t available and a particular course must be taken (sorry!). Since PUC is a liberal arts college, through GE courses students are exposed to all sorts of different subjects, unlike students who attend trade and technical schools that only focus on one subject. Some GE courses I took and enjoyed were Adventist Heritage, Intro to American Government, General Psychology, History of Western Art, Nutrition, and Personal Money Management, just to name a few. The idea behind taking these courses is to develop well-rounded individuals – which means you’ll have the skills to appreciate modern art in a museum, understand how the U.S. Senate works, know the basic laws of physics, and more.  This is one of the many benefits of a liberal arts education. Ask your Enrollment Counselor which GEs they took and which they’d recommend for you. Everyone does it a little differently!

One advantage of the GE package is the opportunity to take a course as an introduction to that major, which can help you decide whether you like a subject enough to major in it. My freshman year, I thought I would like to study Psychology or Communication so I made sure to take those courses to check-off a few GE requirements and to see whether or not those majors were for me. Ultimately, I decided that the subjects were interesting, but the degrees weren’t for me.

I hope this post helped clear things up about PUC’s GE requirements. If you have any questions, be sure to contact our Enrollment Office at 800.862.7080 option 2 or enroll@puc.edu. Any of our six Enrollment Counselors will be happy to talk with you!

What’s a “REVO”?

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I remember when someone first mentioned REVO to me during my first year at PUC. I had no idea what it was, and it didn’t help that they were terrible at explaining. Was it a yard sale, a concert, or a fashion show? And why did people keep mentioning veggie corn dogs? I ended up finding out that REVO is all of that and more.

These diverse activities come together in one night to make a positive difference in the world. Kind of like the Justice League of charity events. Every year, REVO raises money and donates it to a specific project. This year, the funds went to Project Worku which funds education for children in Ethiopia.

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The Stuff Sale is one of the ways people can get involved. Anyone can donate things that they aren’t using anymore, so you’ll see clothes, electronics, and the occasional novelty item from the 80’s. With the amount of stuff people make, donate, or dig up to sell for the day you can wind up finding some really cool stuff. One year, I even found an original Gameboy. You never know what you’re going to see. And the beauty of it is that it’s all going to a good cause. REVO is a great example of a Christian community getting together to do something good in a way that’s fun and inclusive. Oh, and there’s
great food too! REVO always has the best veggie corn dogs this side of the Veggie-Mississippi.

Once you’ve bought your stuff and loaded up on food, you have the concert and fashion show to look forward to. And this year was on point. Some of the best student bands were there to bring you everything from the Earth Wind and Fire, to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. We also got to hear some awesome original pieces too, which I spent a week trying to find bootleg recordings of to put on my iPhone.

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Now I have to be honest and say that I’m not the world’s most fashion-forward person. I was still mixing my plaids with stripes up until junior year of high school… But I still love the fashion show. Want to see what a clothing line based off of the old school Pokemon cartoon looks like? REVO’s got it. Ever watch Disney’s Up and wish you had a dress made out of bright balloons? REVO has you covered. Every year, teams of student designers get together to make their own clothing collections. It’s all very high-class.

Between the music, the open air market, and the runway show, you get a really special evening. And you get to help make a difference in people’s lives while you’re at it. So come to REVO next spring! Seriously, where else are you going to find a corn dog that helps fund someone’s education on the other side of the world?

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Meet The PUC Admissions Blog Team

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Now that you’ve found our blog, it would only be polite for you to learn a little bit
about the people writing for it! The four of us will be the main writers of the PUC
Admissions blog, but we are also looking forward to having some student and
faculty guest bloggers every once in a while!

Brennan Puiia

Dear Readers,Brennan Photo

My name is Brennan Puiia, I’m a contributing writer to this blog as well as several other publications including the Old Farmer’s Almanac, PUC emails and the occasional margins in church bulletins. In 1999, as a sixth grader, I took the year off to search for the true meaning of life which ended up being Pokemon. I then resumed my education and graduated from PUC in 2011 with Public Relations and Journalism. I’m in my third year as an Enrollment Counselor and cosmonaut trainee.

In my free time I read, make excuses for not having time to write, and watch sports. I’m also in the market for an orange tabby.

My favorite place at PUC is Grainger Lobby. During my time in the dorm I had many existential conversations and favorite sports moments. Sunday morning fantasy football over French toast sticks and waffles. My keyboard still sticks from mixing the two.

Dana Negro

Hi! I’m Dana Negro.Dana Photo

After graduating PUC in 2010 with a BS in Public Relation/Journalism and a minor in
Business I started working in Enrollment Services. Currently I’m the Communications
Specialist for Enrollment Services and Public Relations. My days consist of Tweeting,
Facebooking, Instagraming, blogging and lots of other fun things!

When I’m not working you will find me in the city cheering on the SF Giants or the SJ Sharks or traipsing around PUC’s beautiful 40 acres with my crazy little French Bulldog puppy Stella.

My favorite place on campus is The Grind, which is now called the Pacific Café. It’s the
campus coffee shop located in the Campus Center. I spent a ton of time there doing
homework, watching games and hanging out with my favorite people.

Jordan Thornburgh

Hey there! My name is Jordan Thornburgh.Jordan Photo

I graduated from PUC in 2012 with a BS in Communication, and I couldn’t stay away. So I came back and started working for Enrollment Services as an Enrollment Counselor. Now I get to spend my days talking with students who want to come to PUC, whether that’s here on campus or anywhere in the country.

I’m from Southern California, so I love the Dodgers and being around the ocean. I try to fill my spare time with music, writing, sailing, and running to undo the damage of my girlfriend’s amazing cooking. I also play a mean game of ping pong…

My favorite spot at PUC is the running track when it’s late at night and the stars are out above the trees. I used to run there every night when I was a student here, and it’s still my favorite place to get away from it all for a little while.

Larissa Church

Hey guys!Larissa Photo

My name is Larissa Church and my journey with Enrollment Services starts in 1999, when I was hired to help file and answer phones as an eighth grader. Many years later, I’m finishing my third year as an Enrollment Counselor after graduating from PUC with degrees in English Writing and American History and obtaining my Technical Writing certificate from San Francisco State University. I love traveling all over the country and talking with students about what they want to do with their lives.

Out of the office, I spend my time reading, cooking with my husband, and playing with our two rabbits, Tuna and Margaux.

My favorite place at PUC is Irwin Hall, one of the oldest buildings on campus. Photos from PUC’s first few graduating classes line the first floor hallway, and you can just feel the school’s history throughout it.

 

 

 

Welcome to the PUC Admissions Blog!

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Welcome to the new PUC Admissions blog! If you’re reading this, you’re clearly interested in learning more about Pacific Union College and we’re excited about that! This blog was created to help give you an idea of the environment at PUC, and to hopefully help you in deciding if it’s the right place for you to spend the next four years. There’s no substitute for the hands-on experience gained by visiting our campus, but we also know your life is busy and if you’re like us, you love social media, and this blog will offer you lots of great insight into what it’s like to be a student at PUC.

For those unfamiliar with PUC, we’re a four-year liberal arts college nestled in the Napa Valley in California. With 36 majors and 34 emphases, PUC is a great place to gain a well-rounded education. In 2012, Newsweek ranked PUC as the most beautiful college campus in the nation, and we’ve consistently been named in the top tier for diversity among liberal arts colleges.

We’re planning to cover important (but also fun!) topics such as finances, campus ministry opportunities, admissions requirements, social life, cultural clubs, and so much more. We want to give you an insider’s look into what PUC students are doing and what’s happening on our campus. We also want to hear from you! Leave us a comment and tell us what you’re interested in learning more about, and we’ll do our best to cover it.

We’re looking forward to sharing PUC with you!