Tag Archives: student leaders

Pioneers Represent at Student-Athlete Council Summit 

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(PUC student-athletes Madison Kindred & Nathan Hiss on the far right, second row.)

The Student-Athlete Council Summit is a yearly event hosted by the commissioner of the Cal Pac, where representatives from all Cal Pac schools meet and come up with proposals to make the student-athlete experience better by addressing topics that need changing and revising athletic programs as a school and conference. PUC athletes Madison Kindred (women’s volleyball) and Nathan Hiss (cross country) were chosen to represent our college athletes amongst 10 of the 13 Cal Pac schools at this year’s summit to form the 2022-2023 Student Athlete Council at Cal Maritime in Vallejo. 

As SAC representatives, Madison and Nathan’s responsibilities are to ensure that the Cal Pac is responsive to the needs of PUC athletes and resolve the many issues student-athletes face. By doing so, they attended various meetings discussing leadership, emphasizing making a lasting impact on their school’s athletic department and those enrolled in the Cal Pac and NAIA. They met other representatives, participated in team activities, attended a speech by Admiral Copper, and worked closely with the commissioner to create plans and goals for each school. “Our goal at the university level is to represent student-athletes and work with administration to solve the issues that arise throughout the school year and implement lasting solutions,” said Nathan.

Out of all the sessions, the one topic that stood out to Nathan and Madison was mental health and how they can better support student-athletes by addressing their mental health needs. “This stood out the most because it was a universal problem across the schools represented at the summit. This is important to cover because of the extra stress added to athletes throughout their education and athletic careers,” shares Madison. Nathan added, “This topic was deemed as top priority in our council as each school’s athletics department has suffered from struggles arising from mental health.”

From what Madison and Nathan learned from the summit, they both will take action to create a SAC at PUC composed of members from each sport and meet throughout the year to resolve team and department issues and become leaders on our campus.

Connect Ministries: Serving Churches & Academies Around The World

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Connect Ministries is one of PUC’s worship outreach ministries. Ran by the enrollment and marketing department, Lewis Govea is in charge of Connect Ministries- and has been involved since 2017, serving at different academies, camp meetings around California, and reaching out to churches to worship with. Besides making it a habit of attending camp meetings and doing vespers for local academies, they have also traveled as far as Arlington, TX., and Boston, MA. to worship with churches.

Lewis kindly answered some questions for us to learn more about Connect and how you, your church, and academies can get involved.

Tell us about Connect Ministries. 

I think George Tuyu, the PUC church’s current youth pastor, was a large proponent of its inception when he was a PUC student. It was a way for students to bring the banner of PUC to the local churches and academies and help them out with various parts of the service. It currently still operates as primarily a worship ministry. The people that are involved change year to year, but it has always been musicians across campus bringing PUC’s worship to local churches and schools, and sometimes not so local places.

What is your role with Connect Ministries? 

I started getting involved with Connect Ministries back in 2017. I was a freshman, and we went to do vespers at Rio Lindo Academy. I have done a number of things with Connect since then, including spending a week and a half at Redwood Campmeeting in 2019. Now I’m an enrollment counselor and am in charge of the entire ministry, which includes me reaching out to churches and organizing trips.

What plans do you have for Connect next school year? 

The plan for next year is to reinvigorate the program. The goal is to make sure our local churches and schools know they can call on Connect Ministries for a worship experience.

How has this ministry impacted you? 

This ministry is the first PUC ministry I got involved in. It inspired me to reimagine my view of worship and ministry altogether, and challenged me to think bigger and better all the time. These aren’t just productions, they’re worship experiences, and now I am called to lead it.

PUC admissions counselors Pauline Cidro (left) and Lewis Govea (right) with the Connect Ministries team.

What is your favorite thing about being a part of Connect Ministries? 

Being able to guide my student leaders when we are called somewhere. I love making music myself, and I enjoy the challenge of producing something high quality and heartfelt.

How can students get involved with Connect Ministries? 

Anyone interested in being a part of Connect Ministries or who is interested in having us visit their school or church just needs to email connectministries@puc.edu. 

Get To Know Your Student Association

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Welcome to a new year at PUC! We are so excited to get to know each and every Pioneer! This year we have a great group of student leaders who have been working hard to make sure this is the best year yet. Let’s take a minute to meet them and when you see them around campus, don’t hesitate to say hello!

thumbnail_image001Lewis Govea – President 

“There is nothing I want more than to reunite with my PUC family, but I know everything is going to be different when all this is over. The incoming SA Team has the monumental task of rebuilding the PUC Family following this forced separation, but that’s exactly what we signed up for. This pandemic has strained our support systems and left us feeling alone, but I want everyone to know that SA will be waiting for you all with open arms and hearts full of love when we are back together again. We see our reunion as something to be excited for and we are ready to make PUC feel like home again. SA misses everyone and can’t wait to be back home on the hill. We love you all!”

thumbnail_Image-2Aileen Kurts – VP 

“I’m so excited to be a part of SA because I know the potential Student Senate has for making great changes at PUC. I’m ready to lead the Senate to make PUC feel like home for all students. I’m hoping to create a mentorship program at PUC so freshmen have some more guidance in what they’re doing and so they know people who have accomplished what they dream of. Senate is a powerful tool that I’m hoping every student learns about and utilizes so that their experience at PUC is the best they can have because PUC is not just a school but a place to create a family and call home.”

thumbnail_11B82805-844F-4B31-8C46-5B54A7F03BCDSebastian Anderson – PR/Marketing VP

“I’m thrilled to have another opportunity to be a leader and representative of the student body. I hope to use the PR & Marketing position to bring the whole campus closer together while helping campus culture and energy flourish. I want to do everything in my power to make sure everyone feels included, involved, and invited to everything the SA team puts together.”

thumbnail_ImageGrace Jong – Social VP 

“Hey, guys! I can’t wait for all the exciting new adventures that God has planned for PUC. This upcoming year, I have so many events planned in order to connect the students together. Stay tuned always remember to give love and give grace :)”

thumbnail_Image-1Keren Castro – Religious VP 

“I’m really excited to be part of SA and bringing new things to PUC. My biggest goal for next year is really to bring more opportunities for the students to seek a more personal and deeper relationship with God while creating a stronger community through it. This past year, I was on Noah’s RVP team and we brought together Afterglow and we’ve seen amazing outcomes from it. So now I only want to expand from that.”

thumbnail_IMG-20190831-WA0008Miriam YU – Financial VP 

“I’m excited to meet everyone, especially the new SA team, real soon and also to bond with the student body. As FVP I look forward to growing in this position and meeting all the accounting goals.”

thumbnail_ADC_0034Adam Adreveno – Video Producer 

“I look forward to making quality videos for everyone to engage with and enjoy!”

A Letter From Your SA President

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Hello PUC family, my name is Megan Belz and I am lucky to be the student association president for this 2019-2020 school year. I am a senior, business management major and I am absolutely loving it. I started my freshman year at PUC as a fine art major, only really knowing one person and no real drive for what I wanted to do in the future. Even though art is a huge part of my life, it never felt like the right path for me. After months of research and career tests, I decided to try out business. I fell in love with it! My sophomore year is when I really discovered myself and where my strengths lay. I let this passion carry me all the way till now and I’m still very happy. My dream career after college is to manage my own animal shelter. Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge animal lover and an adopt don’t shop advocate. I recently concluded an internship with the Napa County Animal Shelter and I learned so much through that experience. 

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I’ve never really thought of myself as someone who was capable of being a leader. To be completely honest, I often struggle with a lot of self-doubts, as I’m sure many people do. Deciding to take on the position of the SA president is actually a really big deal for me. This school year I really want to prove to myself and to PUC that I am completely capable of just about anything I want to accomplish in life. The biggest thing I have come to realize this summer is I cannot do it on my own! My relationship with God is essential to any steps I take in life and it is through Him I have the strength and the privilege to do so. 

One lesson which really stood out to me is the importance of confidence in Christ. Psalms 27:3 says though an army DEPLOYS against me, my heart will not be afraid. Though a war BREAKS OUT against me, I will still be confident. Reading this really tugged at my heart because David is talking in the present tense. He is not reciting the events that have happened but the events in his life that are happening. It is easy to be courageous and confident over a past situation, but to be brave when you know armies are being deployed against you now, is far more difficult. This is the way I want to approach this school year. I want to have confidence in the Lord that is so great, in the midst of any challenge, big or small, I remain brave. 

2C198FC9-1DCE-494D-B832-514FDE49967EThis school year is going to be so wonderful I can hardly wait!  I am so lucky to have an amazing group of people who make up my SA team. They are coming at you, PUC fam, with exciting events, crazy videos, fun posters, God-centered worship, senate inspired changes, and much more. We are here for the students and we want to give you all the best year possible. I want to encourage anyone who has any suggestions for SA to come to us and talk, we want you to be involved this year. We want to create an atmosphere that can stimulate the year you visualize. I cannot wait to get to know you all better and become the close-knit family I know we can be, because growing close to one another is a perfect example of what God’s love is about. 

 

PUC’s 2018-2019 Student Association Officers Elected

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This week PUC elected a new group of student leaders for next school year to serve on the Student Association. Congratulations to each of them! We can’t wait to see the exciting things you accomplish next year.

We also wanted to take the time to briefly explain the various positions and what they do for the student body.

Kenzie Hardy was elected as SA president.

President
The leader of the SA team, this position acts as the liaison between the student body and the college’s administration. The president sets the tone for the year and supports the team in their duties, facilitating help and ideas when needed. The president is also responsible for several events each year, including one Colloquy service per quarter and weekly SA team meetings.

Amanda Musvosvi was elected as executive vice president.

Executive Vice President
The executive vice president presides over all Student Senate meetings, following the school constitution and bylaws. This critical role also oversees SA elections and serves as chair of the elections committee, and is responsible for holding quarterly town hall meetings to help keep the campus informed of Senate activities.

Financial Vice President
The financial vice president position is the backbone of the financial structure of SA. This position regularly advises each officer and the Student Senate regarding SA budgets, preparing monthly budgets for each officer and advising them on their status.

Daniel Arriaza was elected as religious vice president.

Religious Vice President
An integral part of the spiritual life of the college, the religious vice president works directly with the campus chaplain to secure guest speakers for Friday night vespers programming. This role also works with student leaders and the PUC Church worship pastor to schedule praise and worship praise teams to perform for vespers, and is responsible for the weeks of prayer held in winter and spring quarters.

Fatima Sosa was elected as social vice president.

Social Vice President
The social vice president position is responsible for scheduling and implementing a regular calendar of activities that encourage student participation, including larger events such as banquets and the annual Talent Show. This role also oversees a social committee and collaborates with campus club officers to help promote and provide opportunities for clubs. The social vice president also works closely with the director of student engagement and leadership to execute the fall “Week of WOW” events during the first week of school.

Public Relations & Marketing Vice President
The public relations and marketing vice president is responsible for running all SA social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, and promotion for each SA event, including posters and email graphics. This position hires photographers and videographers to create content for SA events and social media accounts, and assists other SA officers with marketing needs. The public relations and marketing vice president also designs the SA t-shirt for the year which coincides with the theme for the year.

Diogenes Lantern Editor
The Diogenes Lantern editor oversees the production of the school yearbook, which includes taking student, faculty, and staff portraits, as well as hiring staff to assist with design and layout and generating outside advertising income.

Campus Chronicle Editor
The Campus Chronicle editor is responsible for creating and publishing 16 issues of the newspaper each year, which includes writing content and hiring staff to assist with layout, photography, writing, and editing.

Video Producer
The video producer creates a minimum of four short films each quarter that highlight SA events and campus activities and culture, which includes hiring necessary staff to meet production goals and producing at least one creative short film project in conjunction with the Group Production class.