After finishing high school at Justin-Siena, Napa native Andrew Terrado knew he had a passion for helping people and began exploring ways that he could make a living at it. Yesterday he stood at the end of that journey and the beginning of a new one, as he graduated with an associate degree in nursing from Pacific Union College.
“I feel fantastic, like I have tons of potential,” Terrado said. “I feel like now my life’s about to start, so here we go!”
Terrado was one of 314 graduates to receive degrees at Pacific Union College’s 123rd annual commencement, held on Sunday, June 12. Of those, he was also one of 120 who graduated from the PUC’s nursing program, the college’s most popular major.
Waves of roaring applause followed the names of graduates echoing through Commencement Grove, PUC’s traditional graduation venue located among towering evergreens at the peak of campus.
The excitement was evident as students exchanged congratulations and farewells during the ceremony. After the recessional, the thunder of thousands of friends and relatives receiving their graduates could be heard far across campus.
The graduation service reflected PUC’s mission as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian school. Iki Taimi, pastor of the Genesis Church in Gardenia, Calif., and a popular and energetic speaker within the Adventist denomination, gave the commencement address.
In his speech, “Present, Active, Imperative,” Taimi encouraged students to take a hands-on role in their spiritual journeys.
“When you leave this place you will have a choice: ‘Will I seek God actively?’” he said. “No one can seek God for you.”
In addition to the general commencement ceremony, nursing graduates had their own special recognition service Saturday evening. Don Mackintosh, a preacher and nurse with years of experience in emergency and trauma care, spoke about “Bedpans and His Plan,” telling graduates that spiritual ministry was an important element of a nurse’s mission of healing.
“Nursing is not just about saving people’s lives,” he said. “It’s about giving them the information — when you can — that will lead them to eternal life.”
Many students are planning to continue on to graduate school, including the class’s many pre-medical, pre-dental, and MBA-seeking graduates. Allie Evans, a 22-year-old Angwin native, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and was recently accepted into graduate school at Loma Linda University in Southern California. “I’m really excited to move on,” she said of the college that has been her home all her life.
But Terrado, like many others in his class, plans to seek work now that he’s finished with school.
“I’ve been contacted by a few hospitals in San Francisco and Sacramento, so I’ll be following up on those,” he said. In the meantime, he seems satisfied to bask in the warm sunshine of Commencement Grove and cherish his achievement.
“I want to get busy, but today is a day for celebration,” he said. “So I’m just going to relax and enjoy it.”
