Tag Archives: PUC student

Faces of PUC: Andrea Maidan  

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Andrea Maidan chose to attend PUC because it allowed her to be in nature and was highly recommended to her by friends and family. “The educational aspects and the fact that it is centered around God – this was another reason I wanted to attend,” said Andrea. She is majoring in biology, and pre-dentistry, and will be entering her sophomore year this month.

What is your dream job?   

My dream job is something to do with dentistry. General, Orthodontics, Maxillofacial, or Periodontics – I’m not settled on a specific specialty, but I know that I’ll be happy no matter what specialty I go into.  

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young?  

I’ve always wanted to go into dentistry since I was young. Biannual dentist visits was where this passion started. I didn’t have any bad experiences with dentists, as some do, so I want to share this good experience with others. The methodical, hands on system that goes on in this field was a big plus since I knew I wanted a job with these aspects.   

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family?  

My favorite thing about being part of the Pioneers family is the welcoming nature of everyone here. There’s always a smiling face that welcomes you. The inclusivity I’ve witnessed here is a special feature of this school.  

Where is your favorite place in the world? 

Anywhere out in nature! I love being out and about hiking, walking around, and exploring.  

What movie would you want to be trapped in for a day?

Fantastic Mr. Fox by Wes Anderson. 

What is something you’re passionate about?  

Making food for other people! Cooking and baking – say less. I love learning new recipes and just making food for people I care about.  

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend  

Not sure if this counts as the ‘Bay Area’, but Fern Canyon is an A+ hiking spot. It’s also where Jurassic Park was filmed! 🦕 

Faces of PUC: Bethanee Tabura 

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Bethanee Tabura is studying health sciences and fine arts. From hearing how strong her respective majors are at the college, receiving scholarships from high school, and her mother and sister being PUC alumnas, the decision process on where to attend school was simple. 

What is your dream job?  

When it comes to my dream job, it honestly keeps on changing. Typically, it ranges anywhere from a famous architect in Chicago to an at-home artist on the west coast to maybe designing/building sets for sitcoms or just a hairdresser- publishing a few memoirs would be incredible too. Literally, anything that allows me to waste my time creating and getting paid for it. 

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young?  

As far as how my current dream job differs from my childhood dream job- it’s not much different. I don’t remember really growing up dreaming about working one day. I was mostly worried about being awesome and getting good grades, but I did consider being a hairdresser more than once. 

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family?  

Call me crazy, but one of my, if not my most favorite thing about being a part of PUC is the family legacies within it. It’s such a tight-knit community that you can’t help but be secretly related to a few of your fellow students who were, at first glance, presumably strangers. For example, when my roommate (Leila Beltran) and her parents saw my parents while we were moving into our new dorm room, they instantly knew each other. Turns out her mom attended the same summer camp that my parents worked at/”fell in love” at and remembered my parents. A few short years later, both of our parents were beneath the same roof again. Leila and I were both born during the same month at Loma Linda hospital, and now we’re roommates by sheer coincidence! 

Where is your favorite place in the world?  

The beach

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose? Why?  

Any of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. It would be like the Star Wars universe (which is a close second) because you could explore an entire fictional galaxy’s worth of stuff, but you would be constantly entertained by a witty cast and bomb soundtrack. I’m glad I would be limited to one day because I would get very motion sick. 

What is something you’re passionate about?  

People! I am quite passionate about people. The fact that entire groups of people are seemingly so boring but individuals are so complex just completely amazes me, and I love to just wait and see how each person defies their own stereotype. I think people are so interesting and as painstakingly predictable as they can be sometimes- I just love it when they surprise you with that one obscure hobby like collecting crayons. 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend  

EASY. I would suggest that you visit that little park/trail by the Golden Gate Bridge–I think it’s called Lands End–but you have to have your own car, so you can just park and open up the trunk and sit there and watch romcoms alone on your laptop all afternoon while eating a giant burrito, strawberries with Nutella, and a kombucha. If you have the pleasure of staying for the weekend, get another burrito to-go so you can bike across the golden gate bridge, grab lunch at a small café on the other side, take the ferry back to Pier 39, and reward yourself with the honey-roasted almonds at the little canopy/stand on the pier- you can thank me later. 

Faces of PUC: Lanea Carver

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Lanea Carver is a freshman education, liberal studies major from Antioch, CA., but used to live in Angwin. Many of her family members attended PUC, so being a student herself at PUC was always in mind. Lanea’s mother inspired her the most to come to PUC, and we could not be happier to have her as a part of our Pioneers family. 

What is your dream job? 

My dream job is to become a science and humanities teacher of all grade levels in a private, public, and Christian school. 

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young? 

When I was younger, I always wanted to be a chef. I even considered going to culinary school in St. Helena. I love cooking just as much as eating.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family? 

The environment has to be one of my favorite things about this place. The nature is beautiful and the people are so kind and welcoming. 

Where is your favorite place in the world? 

My favorite place in the world is Wallace, Idaho. It’s small and full of history, just a fun place to be with your family. My grandma lives in Kellogg, which is only 15 minutes from Wallace so when I visit her it’s a place I always go to and they have a great melodrama.

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose?

Shrek the third

What is something you’re passionate about? 

Something that I am really passionate about is caring for others. Everyone deserves something who cares and being able to help others and make people laugh is something that I’ll always put first.

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend 

Probably pier 39 in San Francisco, it can be pretty chilly but they have a whole store just for socks so it’s worth it.

Senior Spotlight: Ethan Blanca

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Ethan Blanco will be graduating this June with a degree in Liberal Studies. From Bakersfield, CA, Ethan originally intended to enroll at his local community college. However, not a month before the school year was to start, he learned that many of his local church friends were enrolling at PUC. That was the only thing that motivated Ethan to attend PUC instead.  

Do you remember what stood out to you the most when you first arrived on campus? 

What stood out to me the most when I first arrived on PUC’s campus was the atmosphere. The green and opulent plant life, for one, was stunning to me. I come from Bakersfield, which is certainly not known for its natural green beauty, so I was excited about the change of scenery. The sense of a close-knit community was another theme of PUC that I noticed almost immediately upon arriving. 

What has been your favorite class? 

My favorite class was EDUC-447-01 – Classroom Management with Professor Penaflorida. As someone going into the education field, it was a class that I already knew would be important for my career. However, the way Professor P involved all the students in their own learning and promoted safe and creative discussion was an amazing experience.  

What is something you want to accomplish before graduating? 

I hope to complete the rough draft for a novel I have been writing for six years. Coupled with this novel, I want to add detail to the creative writing of the fantasy world the novel is based in. The hope is that there will eventually be many different stories written about it. 

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family? 

My favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family is the connection that I have bridged with my professors. Many professors here at PUC have helped mold me into the person I am today, and I am both proud and thankful for that fact. I am confident that the relationships I have built over the four years I have been a part of the Pioneers family will not go away after I graduate. 

Recommend a restaurant in the Napa Valley and what people should order. 

Giugni’s Deli is a great sandwich shop off St. Helena Highway. The portions of the sandwich are quite generous. If you wanted, you could eat the sandwich in halves for two separate meals. Plus, there are a lot of ingredient options. If anything, I was overwhelmed with how many choices I had. 

What are you going to miss the most about PUC? 

What I will miss the most about PUC are the people. I have made many connections with friends that will certainly stay with me for years to come. Many of my friends are also committed to the creative writing projects that I am involved in. It is because of them that I have gained the confidence and ideas that have helped shape my novel. 

Senior Spotlight: Jeremy Jim Madrio 

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This week’s senior spotlight is Jeremy Jim Madrio from Lincoln, CA, who majors in management information systems. When Jeremy was in high school and deciding on where to attend college, being an SDA, Jeremy wanted to be able to experience an Adventist institution where he could learn and grow closer to God, so he chose PUC.   

What is your dream job?  

I want to be able to have a job or own a company where I can make a positive impact on society through information technology/systems. 

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young?  

When I was younger, I always thought I was going to become an engineer because mostly I wanted to follow what my dad did. But that quickly changed after the first two weeks of taking college physics and an engineering class. At some point, I also wanted to be a videogame designer or someone who makes unboxing videos on YouTube. 

Do you have a favorite class you’ve taken at PUC? If so, what class and why? 

All my classes here at PUC were really good, but one class that comes to mind that I have enjoyed is Themes in Literature, taught by Dr. Morton. Although english classes are usually not my favorite, I enjoyed this class because the topics were really interesting and it really challenged me to think. Overall, it taught me to become a better learner.

What are you going to miss the most about PUC? 

I’m going to miss the connections that you make and the spiritual life that you can grow while at PUC. Also, the many things you can get involved in.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family?  

My favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family are the connections we are able to make, and the opportunities that we can obtain. 

Where is your favorite place in the world?  

Any place with family and friends.  

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose?  

The Incredibles, because that was my favorite movie as a kid and why wouldn’t it be fun to see all the character’s superpowers. 

What is something you’re passionate about?  

Anything music related. Especially singing with the group I’m a part of, outside of school, called Attuned to Praise. 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend  

The Golden Gate Bridge is a cool sight to see. 

Senior Spotlight: Theodora Sirghi

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We want to highlight one of our seniors, Theodora Sirghi. Theodora is from Queens, New York, and is completing her B.S. in Emergency Services, Paramedic. What made her decide to attend PUC was the academics provided. “I was astonished to hear that PUC not only has an emergency service department, but you can also get a degree out of it rather than if you were to take a week/month course online,” shares Theodora. “Seeing that automatically grabbed my attention since that is what I specifically wanted to pursue.”

What is your dream job? 

My dream job is to be a paramedic firefighter.

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young? 

When I was younger, I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do, however I was always fascinated by the medical field especially since my older sister was in medical school at that time which inspired me. I wanted to pursue in something where I can help people 24/7 whenever and wherever and be able to give back to my community. 

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family? 

My favorite thing about being part of the Pioneers family is the diversity that is spread throughout the students here at PUC. You come across so many students who are not just from other parts of California but from other parts of the world and it’s just fascinating. 

Where is your favorite place in the world? 

My favorite place in the world would have to be my home, which is New York. One of the biggest pros of being born and raised in New York is that you’re in the heart of everything. The fast pace, the buzzing traffic, the hustle, and bustle of the people, the 24-hour life and the creative spirit make NYC one of the most vibrant places in the world. 

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose? 

If I had to be trapped in a movie for a day it would have to be between either Terminator or Aliens. There’s not much of an explanation as to why I would choose these movies however, I simply love both movies due to growing up watching them on a daily. 

What is something you’re passionate about? 

Something I’m very passionate about is music. There are so many different styles and genres. Music is relaxing to me especially when I’m able to just grab my guitar and be able to play while soothing into the flow of the music.  It’s more than just a sound; it’s an art with rhythm, tune, emotion, and meaning. It has helped me face some difficult situations in the past. Some music even resembles the journey of my life. 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend

A place I recommend to go in the Bay Area on a weekend is Baker Beach located in San Francisco. It’s absolutely one of the best beaches in my opinion. You’ll find amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge and it’s even more of a bonus if you go around sunset time. 

Faces of PUC: Christian Junior De Jesus

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Sophomore student Christian Junior De Jesus is a BBA finance major and communication minor from Manchester, New Hampshire. He dreams of being the CEO/Founder of a Fortune 500 company and is passionate about entrepreneurship. His favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family is being an RA, the friendships he’s made, and events at PUC.

What is your dream job? 

CEO/Founder of a Fortune 500 company

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young? 

I wanted to be a computer engineer like my father, but as I grew older I realized that it wasn’t my life purpose.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family? 

The RA life, friendships I make, and events I participate in.

Where is your favorite place in the world?

New York City because the skyscrapers remind me of what I can accomplish in life.

 If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose?

The 300

What is something you’re passionate about? 

Entrepreneurship and Personality Systems 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend 

Santa Clara

Faces of PUC: Taytan Bereket

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Meet one of our new Pioneers, Taytan Bereket. She’s a biotechnology pre-med student from Riverside, CA., and is passionate about lifestyle, growth, and her relationship with Jesus. By the end of her senior year of high school, Taytan had a feeling she would attend PUC. “I’m glad that I made that decision,” she shares. “And I am so blessed to be here.” 

What is your dream job? 

My dream job is to be a neurologist or neurosurgeon. I’ve always been interested in the way the brain works, especially in the area of medicine. Maybe one day I’ll own/be a founder of a facility that works with diseases in the brain like Alzheimer’s, brain tumors, etc., receiving treatments, from natural remedies and receiving healthy foods, and to dedicated nurses and researchers. 

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young? 

I wanted to be a doctor when I was five, then wanted to be an actor for some reason- I don’t know what I was thinking, and then I wanted to be a counselor during my sophomore and junior year, it wasn’t till senior year where I knew exactly what I wanted to be.  

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family? 

I love the beauty of the campus and the teachers as well. You could tell that they are dedicated to the things that they teach and that is something that I appreciate. At times, I don’t want to go to class, but when I arrive in class, the hospitality that the professors here give you makes you feel like you are at home, making the day better. 

Where is your favorite place in the world? 

I love to go to the beach! The sounds of the waves and the feeling of the air and the sun give you peace. 

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose?

A Journal for Jordan

What is something you’re passionate about? 

I am very passionate about lifestyle, growth, and my relationship with Jesus. Also, I love music and learning things about music in different genres. 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend 

I’m not from the bay area, I’m from Socal haha. But I’ll say from what I know, go to Oakland or San Francisco, they have wonderful sights that you can drive through, walk or take pictures of. 

Faces of PUC: Ashley Castro-Rodriguez

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Ashley Castro-Rodriguez is studying theology and minoring in communications. Coming from Salem, Oregon. She chose PUC because she received scholarships and guidance from her advisor, Pastor and Professor Wibberding. He explained and showed her how the Theology program worked and made her feel welcome. Ashley shared that the admissions team was also super welcoming and helped guide her through the entire application process. Living in the PNW, she found the campus pretty and reminded her of home.

What is your dream job? 

Anything relating to Pastoral Ministry, knowing I am making an impact being able to help people.

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young?

I never really knew what I wanted to be as a kid, it always changed. It wasn’t until I understood how my mom had studied Theology and was going to be a pastor for the Oregon conference, that I realized that was even an option.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family?

How easy it is to be involved in things, and the people you get to meet because of it. Being able to go from class to working at the grind to working at the campus ministries office to running to orchestra practice and seeing so many different familiar faces makes my day.

Where is your favorite place in the world?

Anywhere as long as I’m with my friends and family

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose?

Eternals, because a) ancient history, b) the music (more specifically the song “Friends”), c) super cool superheroes (and Harry Styles). But as a main character, I wouldn’t want to be an innocent bystander who doesn’t know what’s going on. 

What is something you’re passionate about?

Music! I listen to a lot of music styles, and I love live music and the impact it can have. Whether I’m leading, playing bass for worship, or simply listening. Ministry and Jesus too, they tie together and are a big part of my life.

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend

The Petrified Forest in Calistoga is pretty cool and makes for a nice hike

Faces of PUC: Frances Velarde 

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Frances Velarde is a nursing major from Arizona. She found her calling to be a nurse and dreams of working in pediatrics. One of her favorite things about PUC is being in a welcoming community that helps her grow spiritually. 

What is your dream job?

My dream job is to be a pediatric nurse.

How does that compare to what you wanted to be when you were young?

I always wanted to help people and educate others when I was younger and become a teacher, but today, I feel like my calling is to be a nurse instead, and I’m very passionate about it.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of the Pioneers family?

My favorite thing about being part of the Pioneers family is that a lot of the people here in PUC are very wholesome. It’s nice to have a community of people that make you feel included and help you grow spiritually.

Where is your favorite place in the world?

Wherever my friends are because I feel happiest when I’m with them.

If you had to be trapped in a movie for a day, what movie would you choose? 

Crazy Rich Asians

What is something you’re passionate about? 

Music 

Recommend a place to go in the Bay Area on a weekend

Daeho, because they have bomb food.