Search - Becky St. Clair

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PUC Introduces New 海角视频 Director

By Becky St. Clair on October 18, 2018

It鈥檚 impossible not to smile at Ralph Perrin, new athletics director at 海角视频. It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e only just meeting him or have known him for decades, the grey-haired gentleman鈥檚 face lights up as soon as he sees you. His office, hidden between exit doors at the side of the basketball courts in the PUC gym, boasts awards given not to Perrin himself, but to his daughters.The lack of presence of awards with his name speaks not to his ability, but rather to his focus and his humility. Perrin played varsity basketball in high school, while also enjoying on the side racquetball and football.鈥淚 played it all,鈥 he says with a laugh. 鈥淭he bouncing ball is like a siren call to me. If I hear of a sport going on, it draws all my attention.鈥漃errin says he finds joy in virtually all sports, but some of his favorites include volleyball, baseball, snow sports, and water sports, and he raised his kids playing them as well.Despite鈥攐r perhaps as a result of鈥攈is interest in athleticism and sports, Perrin found himself more interested in the biochemical part of nutrition. This led to his undergraduate degrees in biology and chemistry, his...
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A Conversation with Fall Revival Speaker Josue Hernandez

By Becky St. Clair on October 4, 2018

Josue Hernandez is in the middle of his third year of ministry as associate pastor at the Modesto Central Seventh-day Adventist Church. He graduated from 海角视频 in 2015 with a degree in theology, and will begin MDiv classes in January. 鈥淚 wanted to be a pastor to ensure the voices of young people are heard in the life of the church,鈥 Josue says. Beginning Oct. 8, Pastor Josue will be sharing some spiritual insights and food for thought during Fall Revival at PUC. Join us every evening Oct. 8-12 at 8:00 in Dauphinee Chapel in Winning Hall, and at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11, in the PUC sanctuary for Colloquy, to hear him speak on PUC鈥檚 Student Association鈥檚 theme of 鈥淏eyond.鈥 Pastor Josue adds, 鈥淭his theme really resonates with what I believe to be part of life鈥檚 most rewarding elements: Our ability to grow, step out of our comfort zone, and embrace the stress and tension that growth thrives on.鈥 We chatted a bit with Josue to get an idea of the kind of guy he is, and the verdict is he鈥檚 pretty great. We look forward to hearing what he has to say for Fall Revival.You鈥檙e...
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Social Work Study Tour to Estonia

By Becky St. Clair on October 2, 2018

In 2012, Helo Oidj盲rv, associate professor of social work, went home to Estonia to visit her parents. While there, she had a few preliminary meetings with social workers at the Tartu city government, and worked with them to develop a 3-4-week program to learn about the social welfare system in Estonia, based on that in Tartu. 鈥淓stonia has a totally different kind of social welfare system than the U.S.,鈥 Oidj盲rv points out. 鈥淚 thought it could be helpful for my students to experience and learn about the various agencies there, to get a broad overview of what different aspects of social policy look like in Estonia and compare it to what they鈥檙e used to experiencing in the U.S.鈥滱t the time, Oidj盲rv was teaching social work at Walla Walla University (College Place, Washington), and implemented the program as part of the university鈥檚 graduate social work field practicum. Now that she is teaching social work at 海角视频, the program has been slightly adapted and has become part of PUC鈥檚 social work program as their Global Social Work study tour.The previous teacher of Global Social Work at PUC had taken students to visit an organization in India that helped women transition...
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PUC Ranked #2 for Salary Potential

By Becky St. Clair on September 27, 2018

海角视频 announced today that they rank second on PayScale鈥檚 2018-19 ranking of associate degree schools which provide the best return on investment after graduation."We are proud of our A.S. students, who are attaining a well-deserved return on their investment with 海角视频,鈥 says Nancy Lecourt, academic dean at PUC. 鈥淥ur professors are clearly preparing them well for meaningful and rewarding service.鈥漃ayScale, Inc., is the world鈥檚 leading provider of on-demand compensation data and software. This year鈥檚 annual College Salary Report included over 200 additional schools from previous years. PayScale鈥檚 2018 report provides estimates of early and mid-career pay for nearly 2,700 associate and bachelor鈥檚 degree-granting institutions throughout the U.S., including 1,655 schools providing only bachelor鈥檚 degrees鈥攖he category in which PUC falls.鈥淔or associate degrees, nursing and healthcare provide the biggest payoff for graduates at half the cost of a four-year institution,鈥 PayScale indicates in their release of the report. 鈥淔or four-year institutions, it pays to attend a private school, as seven out of ten of the top ten schools are private institutions.鈥滷or more information about PayScale鈥檚 rankings, or to view the complete list, visit their website. For more information about two-year programs at PUC, visit puc.edu/academics/degrees-programs....
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Languages & Cultures professor consults for ACA in Brazil

By Becky St. Clair on September 26, 2018

Adventist Colleges Abroad (ACA) currently maintains 11 campuses around the world, in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Last spring, Sylvia Rasi Gregorutti, chair of the department of world languages and cultures, ACA board member and ACA representative at PUC, received an invitation from the organization to serve as a consultant for their new campus in Brazil.鈥淚n an effort to provide a better environment for students in the ACA-Brazil program,鈥 explains Gregorutti, 鈥渢he organization voted to transfer the campus from the large Universidade Adventista de S茫o Paolo (UNASP) in Southern Brazil to the Faculdade Adventista de Bahia (FADBA), a smaller school in northern Brazil, about two hours from Salvador in the state of Bahia. That鈥檚 like moving it from Chicago to New Orleans. Culturally and weather-wise, it鈥檚 a major change.鈥 The shift to Bahia will offer ACA students greater engagement with not only their classmates and professors, but also with the local culture and people.In order to fill her consultant role, Gregorutti was told she would need to complete the full six-week ACA -Brazil student program on the new Bahia campus. She agreed with the condition that her 13-year-old daughter come along. 鈥淚 was student and consultant at...
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BIOneers: PUC鈥檚 Department of Biology Establishes Unique Mentorship Program

By Becky St. Clair on August 14, 2018

It started as a conversation between senior biology majors one day during class. Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology and the class鈥 professor, put down her lecture notes and looked each student in the eye. 鈥淔orget today鈥檚 lecture,鈥 Wyrick told the class. 鈥淭oday I want to hear from you and learn from your experiences. What can we do to make the biology program better?鈥滱s the laptops closed and notebooks dropped into backpacks, the students began to share. It became clear after a few students spoke that a common thread was the struggle as freshmen to navigate classes and post-college plans.鈥淐ollege can be complicated, even for the smartest student,鈥 says Sabrina Mostoufi, 2018 biology graduate, who was part of the brainstorming class. 鈥淲e all realized we鈥檇 had similar struggles navigating classes and post-college plans, even into our second and third years. This led us to the idea that it would be helpful if older students could act as mentors to freshmen to help point them in the right direction as they鈥檙e starting out in college.鈥漈he hour-long brainstorm session was eye-opening, revelatory, and productive. At the end of the day, Wyrick was convinced a biology major mentorship program was both...
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Image Refresh: Angwin Chevron Receives Remodel Award

By Becky St. Clair on August 2, 2018

From August 6-10, the Angwin Chevron station will be undergoing an upgrade remodel. During this week, services will be limited, as certain parts of the station will need to be closed for refurbishment. Fuel will still be available 24 hours a day, though some dispensers will be unavailable off and on.Chevron recently held a contest for all of its stations, asking for plans which the station would follow if awarded a sum of money with which to improve their physical image. Pat Withers, manager of Angwin鈥檚 Chevron, decided to participate.鈥淚t was a very nice surprise,鈥 she says. 鈥淓arlier this year Chevron gave us $500 to repair the curbs around the station that have been broken and damaged, so this has been a good year for improvements.鈥漈he Perennial Image Refresh Award came to the Angwin station in a lump sum of $13,000. This money will help pay for painting, new LED signs on the canopy, and brand new center curbs, poles, and trash cans between the fuel dispensers.The station plans to reopen with full services and a clean new look on Monday, August 13....
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High-Impact Learning: PUC Seniors Pull it all Together

By Becky St. Clair on July 31, 2018

In 2008, George Kuh, founding director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, developed a collection of 鈥淗igh-Impact Practices鈥 (HIPs) based on many years of data from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). These experiential learning practices promote student learning through active engagement. Since then, most colleges and universities across the country have begun moving toward incorporating many of these HIPs into their curriculum.The curriculum at PUC already included several of the HIPs, such as collaborative learning, internships, undergraduate research, study abroad, writing-intensive courses, and service-learning. While the college was already providing capstone opportunities, in 2010, it intensified efforts to make 鈥渃ulminating experiences鈥 available to all bachelor鈥檚 students. This included experiences such as a capstone course, internship, senior project or thesis, comprehensive exam, or portfolio.鈥淪tudents are more likely to be engaged with their education when the High-Impact Practices are included as part of that experience,鈥 says Nancy Lecourt, academic dean and vice president for academic administration at PUC. 鈥淭his translates into improved learning, as well as higher retention and graduation rates.鈥漈hough many departments were already requiring a senior project for each of their seniors, the 2010 change in curriculum at PUC meant that 100 percent of all bachelor鈥檚...
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A Church for the Mission: Department of Theology Offers New Missional Leadership Class

By Becky St. Clair on July 25, 2018

Like every department on campus, 海角视频's department of theology is always seeking ways to improve and increase what it offers for students. As demographics, society, and culture shifts, education must adjust to ensure the most current and relevant training for today's young leaders and tomorrow's experienced ones. Ministry is no exception."Our world is rapidly changing," says Jim Wibberding, associate professor of applied theology and biblical studies, "more rapidly than our church does in its approach to mission. We want to train leaders to interact with that reality productively and think from theory to practice and learn in the field, organic to the mission."The department has recently been given the green light by academic administration to offer a new course, starting Fall 2018: Missional Leadership. While "missions" and "missional" are trendy buzzwords in many circles today, Wibberding says the idea behind this 400-level course is to help students understand the idea that instead of the church having a mission, the mission might happen to have a church."Really, it's an attempt to go back to the apostles' experience in Acts," he says. "Jesus gave them a shockingly short to-do list. He gave them no strategy, no church organization explanation, but...
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Blazing a New Trail: Biology faculty and biochem student partner on original research

By Becky St. Clair on July 18, 2018

For three months of the year, two small fields in the popular Napa Valley resort town of Calistoga blossom with tiny white flowers known as the Calistoga Popcorn Flower. These two fields are the only known location of this flower in the world, which explains its presence on the list of endangered plants.鈥淭here鈥檚 a PUC alumnus in Calistoga doing a housing project, and he asked me to come take a look at this flower,鈥 says Aimee Wyrick, chair of the department of biology at 海角视频. 鈥淚 did, and I鈥檝e been looking for six years now.鈥滵uring those years, Wyrick has worked determinedly during blossom season, collecting soil and water samples for examination in a lab. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 clear is where this flower is found has a lot to do with what鈥檚 in the soil,鈥 Wyrick says. 鈥淏ut we haven鈥檛 really been able to dig into this idea until recently.鈥漌hat changed was the arrival of Kirpa Batth, a biochem major from Sacramento, who enrolled in PUC鈥檚 honors program with an interest in hands-on research. When offered the opportunity to partner with Wyrick and Robert Wilson, chemistry professor, Batth jumped at the chance.鈥淭hough we鈥檙e still in the early stages of our research,...
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