Homecoming 2015 10 Cycling for Chad 04
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PACIFIC UNION COLLEGE SPRING 2015 Cycling for The Legacy of Homecoming Chad 04 PacificQuest08 2015 10 PACIFIC UNION COLLEGE • SPRING 2015 president’s message STAFF Editor Jennifer Tyner [email protected] Layout and Design Haley Wesley Living the Legacy: A Journey to Serve [email protected] Art Director Cliff Rusch, ’80 [email protected] Pacific Union College is truly blessed. There is no in the world beyond our campus. Our faithful Photographers Allison Regan, ’15; Haley better word for the privilege, year after year, of alumni honor us, and, more importantly, they Wesley offering Christ-centered instruction and inspi- honor our Creator and Savior through their deep Contributors Walter Collins; Herb Ford, ration—this unique confluence of knowledge, commitment to service. ‘54; Lawrence Geraty, ’62; Nancy Lecourt; Emily Mathe, ’16; Amanda Navarrete, community, and spiritual enrichment that is the ’15; Karen Roth, ’85; Michelle Konn Rai, Adventist Advantage—to so many wonderful As PUC Pioneers travel the long roads of their indi- ‘97; Martin Surridge, ‘09; Jennifer Tyner; young people. In fact, in the course of this particu- vidual journeys, be it to the Ebola-ravaged wards Darin West, ’11; Chambria Wheeler, ‘08 lar school year, over 1670 dedicated students have of Monrovia, the refugee camps along Thailand’s PUC ADMINISTRATION stepped into the classrooms of one of the finest border, or to the narrow, foggy tracks of Europe on President Heather J. Knight, Ph.D. Christ-centered learning communities available. two wheels, those who meet them will be changed. "Once students Vice President for Academic Administration And, when the journey leads our alumni home to Nancy Lecourt, Ph.D. 10 Homecoming 2015 complete their course For many of our students, the initial steps of their visit the “College on the Mountain,” we will hear Vice President for Financial Administration of study at PUC, most undergraduate journey were taken long before their stories and recognize how the years of dedi- Dave C. Lawrence, MBA, Ed.D. Celebrating the Pioneer spirit of service they registered for their first class at PUC. A num- cated support and encouragement from professors, Vice President for Asset Management leave the campus ber of our students came to us at a much younger tutors, mentors, and spiritual leaders have formed John Collins, ’70, Ed.D. age through PacificQuest, PUC’s unique summer a living legacy of PUC in our students. Vice President for Student Services Lisa Bissell Paulson, Ed.D. seeking to fulfill study program. This summer, PacificQuest cel- Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Features Departments the unique purpose ebrates 20 years of success in offering burgeoning Relations Walter E. Collins, B.A. young academics a chance to experience higher Vice President for Enrollment Management and 04 Cycling for Chad 02 President’s Message Christ has designed education well before their first day of college. Public Relations Jennifer Tyner, M.A. Brandon Tresenriter cycling just for them." 33 College News For others, their journey includes particular chal- Heather J. Knight, Ph.D. CONTACT US journey raises funds for Africa lenges and exciting opportunities, as they are the President 36 PUC in Pictures Post ViewPoint Editor first in their families to access higher education. Pacific Union College 06 Using the Old to Make 41 With more than a quarter of the PUC student body One Angwin Avenue Alumni News composed of first-generation pioneers, the college’s Angwin, CA 94508-9797 Shakespeare New 44 Leave a Legacy commitment to it’s students’ academic experience Bringing Original has paid significant dividends in keeping them E-mail [email protected] 45 Back in the Day interested and engaged with our faith-based cur- Phone (707) 965-6303 Pronunciation back to the 46 riculum. These students’ successes are all the more Fax (707) 965-7101 Globe The Interview laudable for the tenacity they show. Addition- Alumni Office 47 My ViewPoint ally, PUC’s retention rate for our first-generation (707) 965-7500 08 The Legacy of PacificQuest students is 87 percent, an achievement that is quite www.puc.edu/alumni/viewpoint Young academics explore atypical in higher education. We are incredibly proud of them and of the role their professors and Vision Statement: ViewPoint, the journal of college through unique On the Cover Pacific Union College, connects PUC’s mentors play in their accomplishments. alumni and friends in a community that summer program Members of the Class celebrates the college’s activities and of 1965, along with For over 13 decades, PUC’s commitment to develop- stories, and supports the continuation 22 Sustaining Excellence hundreds of PUC of its mission into the future. ViewPoint alums, celebrate ing servants for Christ has resulted in over 25,000 aims to provide quality features about Recognizing donors who alumni worldwide. Their journeys do not end on topics relevant to our community; news joyful reunions our campus. Once students complete their course about the college and alumni; and means support PUC’s mission during Homecoming to unite, motivate, and inspire. 2015. of study at PUC, most leave the campus seeking to fulfill the unique purpose Christ has designed 31 First Generation Pioneers Produced quarterly by the Pacific Union just for them. Our graduates are equipped with the College Office of Public Relations for PUC students first in their practical knowledge and the spiritual resilience to the alumni and friends of the college. succeed and serve in a complex world. Each one is families to access higher a source of inspiration, pride, and support not only education for PUC, but also for thousands upon thousands ©2015, Pacific Union College Printed in U.S.A. 32 Led By Faith Tad Worku listens as God leads Volume 38 no. 2 & 3 2 ViewPoint | Spring 2015 ViewPoint | Spring 2015 3 Cycling for Chad Alum rides across Europe to serve Martin Surridge terrain along the way, and overcome some in- timidating language barriers. He shared what it was like riding solo across Europe in some of the worst moments: “Some days saw me fighting strong winds while shiv- ering, hands barely functioning enough to grip the handlebars. Starting out in the mornings often felt like the most difficult part, especially when the weather was poor and I was tired from the previous day.” It wasn’t all bad however. Brandon enjoyed camping in ancient stone ruins and even meet- ing Europeans of the non-human variety, spe- cifically some rather charming goats and dogs in Ireland. He eventually clocked over 4,000 miles, all while raising money for the rural clinic in Chad that he had come to know so in- timately. “I got to know the doctor stationed there as hen Brandon Tresenriter, ’12, was “World travel and service can completely open up your well as the hospital staff and I made a real con- young, he rarely rode his bicycle nection with them,” he said. “I knew exactly longer than four or five miles at a understanding of the world and it brings about personal growth at how the money would be spent—on expand- W ing the lab—and felt comfortable asking for during a summer. I had a conversation with hasn’t given up his desire to see more of the time, and never more than that. He grew up, him once that inspired my interest,” Brandon world from the vantage point of his bicycle, entered college and did not think much about an accelerated pace.” donations as I could guarantee it would not be explained. “It was because of Brian that I knew and might even do something similar in the biking, going years without fixing a flat or wasted.” it was possible.” future. gripping slippery handlebars in the rain. Per- While working at the clinic, Brandon was he rode through Scandinavia, Germany, France In a November post on Brandon’s fundrais- What he describes as “possible” probably “It is well worth it,” he said. “World travel and haps it was the discomfort of long-distance able to see the need for an expanded laboratory and up into the British Isles. After his service ing Facebook page, Scott and Bekki Gardner, sounds impossible to most, daunting even for service can completely open up your under- cycling that dissuaded him from jumping in order for the staff at the surgery center to in Chad had concluded and he had spent time the husband and wife medical team who lead many experienced cyclists, but Brandon saw standing of the world and it brings about per- back onto his bicycle that sat unused at home, better serve the local population of over a quar- researching exactly what gear he would need, the medical mission at Moundou Adventist during his time at PUC that adventurous, ser- sonal growth at an accelerated pace.” but Brandon’s understanding of discomfort ter million people. Even though he graduated Brandon put his 50¢/mile plan into action. On Surgery Center, shared that “donations are vice-oriented living can be an integral part of would change in the months he spent serving from PUC with a degree in chemistry and had a Trek 7.4 FX Disc 2013, he tackled the nar- starting to come in and we are starting the lab being a Christian in the twenty-first century. at a surgery center in the Central African na- knowledge of scientific equipment, Brandon row country lanes and hills of the European expansion as we speak.” Brandon’s online journal, where he blogged about “PUC seems to be really focused on missions tion of Chad. He volunteered at the Moundou realized that the particular tool with which he countryside, often thick with fog, reaching While this incredible trek, planned out in the details of his European adventure, can be found a lot, which is great," he said.