When you arrive at PUC and begin exploring your new home away from home, you’ll likely want to know just who is in charge of your living space. We’ve made that easy for you! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be featuring all of our residence hall deans here on the blog so you can get to know them all. And if you need to contact them, feel free to reach out!
Name: Juan Hidalgo
Dean of: Grainger Hall
Phone: (707) 965-6387
Email: jmhidalgo@puc.edu
Dean since: 2017
What were you doing prior to being hired as dean?
I was finishing my degrees here at PUC in psychology, Spanish, and nursing.
What does a typical day look like for you?
7:30 – wake up
8:00 – workout
9:00 – breakfast
9:30 – house/office work
12:00 – lunch
1:00 – siesta
2:00-5:00 – office/house/errands
6:00 – dinner
7:00 – night workout (basketball/sauna/run in back 40)
8:00-11:30 – Uber driving
Midnight – bedtime
What do you find most challenging about your work?
I think the most challenging part would have to be explaining to other people all the things deans do.
What do you find most rewarding?
When students see we are truly here to help, not to hinder.
What are some of your hobbies?
I have a lot, but most of them are pretty active. I enjoy getting outside and moving, so some of my favorite hobbies are sports (Ultimate Frisbee, basketball, golf, football, disc golf), photography, music (guitar, ukulele, harmonica), exploring, and adrenaline-rich activities. I also really enjoy sleeping.
What do you love most about PUC?
I absolutely love the family dynamic we have. We are a little (okay, very) dysfunctional at times and may not always get along, but there is something special about being up on this hill with everyone that brings us together. We have laughed together, cried together, fought with each other; but at the end of the day, there is something very uniting about knowing someone else has gone to PUC and in turn, is also part of the family.
So, you earned three degrees here at PUC. What was it you wanted to be when you were a kid?
Honestly, I wanted to be a grown-up. Now I regret it all. Haha!
What are some things on your bucket list—some you’ve checked off and some you’re still working toward/hoping for?
On my bucket list can be found a lot of traveling; I have always wanted to explore Africa and China. But some of the specific things I still have to do on my list are as follows:
Deep-sea shark cage diving
Attend an Andrea Bocelli concert
Meet Kobe Bryant
Launch my own photography business
Complete an IronMan
Earn Ph.D.
Visit the Pyramids of Giza
Play my harmonica on Bourbon Street in New Orleans
Climb Half Dome
Visit all of the Disneylands
Some of the specific things from my list I’ve done already:
Graduate college
Skydiving (x4)
Watch “Gladiator” in the Coliseum
Win the TV show Fear Factor Live
View Africa from the rock of Gibraltar
Stand in center field at Chavez Ravine aka Dodgers Stadium
Name something you obsessively collect and tell me why.
I collect instruments; I love to challenge myself to play new ones. I may not be good, but I love to try!