Campus Blogs

Mario Gonzalez (BA ’07) wasn’t sure if he’d finish what he started at FPU. After attending and even walking at graduation, he had only two classes remaining to complete his degree, but he never made it to finals.

One day, he received a call from Richard Unruh, Ph.D., political science professor and himself a 1976 graduate, who wanted to make sure his former student was doing okay. “He motivated me to return and finish my classes,” Mario says. “His encouragement and support helped me come back and complete my degree.” Mario ended up graduating with a bachelor’s degree in pre-law/criminal justice before going on to earn a juris doctorate from San Joaquin College of Law.

That support and encouragement were two of the many things Mario took away from his time at Fresno Pacific University.

The university taught him about the power of community and the importance of giving back. Through time spent in the Commuter House and serving on the Commuter Council, Mario grew to rely on others and share space with others. “We prioritized breaking bread with one another, signifying that we are all in this together, which is something I’ve taken with me into my current role,” he says.

Mario currently serves as deputy director of Centro La Familia Advocacy Services, based in Fresno, which offers a broad range of programs to assist crime victims, support families and children, offer immigration services, promote health and wellness, encourage civic engagement and more.

“We strive to recognize the problems that our community is facing and fill the needs,” Mario says. “During my time here, I helped build the victim services program. We’ve been able to help people from all over the world get protection, help with immigration statuses and more. I’ve had the opportunity to speak around the country about the work we are doing and how to deliver services in a manner that is respectful and culturally sensitive.”

For Mario, this work is both gratifying and personal. “As an immigrant myself and learning how to go through the systems and experiencing forced assimilation, I know that it is possible to overcome challenges and barriers. I love getting to help people overcome the problems facing them.”

FPU’s commitment to its students and the community continues to impact Mario as he carries out the values he learned during his time at the university.

Megan Valdez (BA '14) descended from the Paris of sidewalk cafes and the Eiffel Tower to an underground labyrinth of tunnels filled with millions of skeletal remains. Spiral steps—131 in all—led her down to catacombs dating back to the late 1700s.

The air was cool in the subterranean space. The footsteps of other visitors crunched on the gravel, and there were echoes of water dripping from the low ceilings. “I knew it was a mass grave, but that reality didn’t fully compute until I saw it in person,” Megan says.

She was following her interest in history while traveling with other alumni and friends of Fresno Pacific University. Emeritus History Professor Steve Varvis, Ph.D., organizes the trips with Go Ahead Tours and then leads the groups on their European adventures. Since 2017, FPU groups have traveled to the Netherlands/Germany/Switzerland (for the 500^th anniversary of the Reformation), Central Europe, France, Greece, Italy, Scotland/Ireland and Spain. A trip to Scandinavia is planned for 2025.

For Megan, it’s the perfect way to travel. “It’s nice not to have to worry about booking hotels, flights and museum tours, and there’s enough time to explore on your own,” she says.          

For Steve, the trips are an extension of the European history that has occupied a major part of his academic career. “There are authors who say the Europe of the Middle Ages is the root of our intellectual and spiritual problems today but also the reason for the successes of our modern world. The trips help me understand in a deeper way what I’ve studied and taught,” he says.

He adds: “Travel opens your eyes to different ideas and different ways of living. Plus, you meet a lot of great people who are very welcoming. The trips are the highlight of my year.”

‘Meshes well’

The tours typically last about two weeks, and the number of travelers never exceeds 30. FPU alumni usually make up half of the travelers, with their family and friends filling out the groups. Ages have ranged from early 20s to 80, with many people in their 50s and 60s. “The mix of people on our tours is fun,” Steve says. “It all meshes well. One tour guide said we were a very unique group—everyone helping one another and getting along.”

Itineraries include stops at many historical locations. On the trip to France in 2022, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was still under repair from fire damage, so Steve led the group to Sainte-Chappelle. Louis IX had the chapel built in the mid-1200s to keep the crown of thorns worn by Jesus and other relics bought from the Byzantine emperor. Two of the other stops in France were Rouen, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and the American cemetery in Normandy, the resting place of troops who died liberating Europe from Nazi rule.

Some tours have side trips. After Steve led the FPU group through Vienna, Budapest and Prague in Central Europe in 2022, some folks went to Salzburg in Austria, where “The Sound of Music” was filmed. Their tour guide said Austrians don’t understand Americans’ fascination with the film’s Salzburg locations. Then the group traveled to Germany to see the Oberammergau Passion Play, a five-hour depiction of the last days of Christ, his death and resurrection. The play is presented every 10 years. “It brought the gospel stories we’ve heard so many times to life and helped us see and understand them more deeply,” Steve wrote in a blog.

Consuelo Romo (BA ’18) also found the Passion Play riveting. “I thoroughly enjoyed the glorious singing and creative storytelling, and I wept at the crucifixion of Christ and was deeply moved that there was no curtain call or moment for accolades when complete. It was for the glory of God and was a gift that I will carry for a lifetime,” she says.

C.S. Lewis Square

In 2023, the FPU tour was planned partly around landscapes—the Highlands, bogs and lochs (lakes) of Scotland and the coasts of Ireland. As the group drove from Edinburgh to the Highlands, their tour director and driver added a surprise visit to the Kelpies, two 98-feet-tall horse-head sculptures depicting a spirit in Irish and Scottish folklore. “It was memorable because of the sheer size of the sculptures and the fact that our guides cared so much about making our trip special,” says Melissa Berend (BA ’10).

Melissa and the others spent two days at Loch Ness (no monster sightings!) and then crossed the Irish Sea by ferry to Belfast in Northern Ireland. While there, some folks visited C.S. Lewis Square with its statues of Lewis’ Narnia characters, and others went to the Titanic Belfast, a museum that commemorates the ship being built in the city. At Blarney Castle, Steve and a few others lay down, leaned back headfirst and kissed the famous stone. In Dublin, some of the group had “high tea” at a 5-Star hotel, and there was a group dinner at a pub with much singing and good cheer.

‘Like a storybook’

In 2024, Blanca Martinez (MA ’24) was on the tour that began in Barcelona, Spain, continued to the French Riviera and ended in Milan, Italy. “It was my first trip to Europe, and I thought it was the safest option to go with experienced travelers,” she says. Of the many trip’s highlights, boating on Italy’s Lake Como stood out. Set against the foothills of the Alps, the lake is known for its dramatic scenery.

“The views were so beautiful that I felt like I was in a movie,” Blanca says. “I don’t think a camera lens could capture how stunning it was.” The boat tour included a stop at a colorful village where buildings were painted green, tan and pink, and lunch was homemade pasta that a restauranteur made as Blanca and others watched. “It was the best I’ve ever had,” she says.

Athens, the Greek islands and New Testament locations like Corinth were the destinations of the second trip in 2024. Esther Klassen-Isaak (BA ’77), who directed FPU’s Counseling Office for 18 years, was intrigued to travel to the birthplace of Western civilization because of her interest in history, religion and mythology.

One warm day, Esther and others in the FPU group visited the Archeological Museum of Ancient Corinth. They saw the place where the Apostle Paul faced trial before Roman proconsul Gallio and was acquitted (Acts 18: 12-16). “My heart was touched to be standing in the exact place where Paul faced his Jewish accusers and to walk where he walked in the ancient city’s marketplace,” Esther says. “I did not expect to be so moved by this experience.”

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For information about upcoming tours, email Steve.Varvis@fresno.edu or visit https://grouptoursite.com/stevevarvis.

Cheers to 80 years of Faith, Wisdom and Service! We're celebrating all year long, and we want you to be a part of the fun! Join us as we look back on our journey and look forward to an exciting future together.
#80yearsatFPU

July 3, 2024. We returned from the FPU Alumni and Friends Tour five days ago, and now, after a couple of full-night’s sleep, jet lag seems to be almost over. It’s projected to be 110 today in Fresno, and that already has me thinking about next year’s June tour (2025) to Scandinavia. It’s bound to be cooler.

We traveled on June 9 to Barcelona, and over the next 12 days made our way across Provence, southern France—Carcasonne, Avignon, Arles, Aix in Provence, and Monaco (not French exactly, but surrounded)—and then to the Italian Riviera and Milan. A dozen of us continued to Florence for a short “extension.”  You never know what you will experience as you go to small out-of-the way places, and we had our share of unexpected delights. Our Tour Director’s initial note to the group said we would see beautiful sites and landscapes, and it would just keep getting better. I thought it was just travelling hyperbole, but I was mistaken. He was exactly right.

Here are some highlights, as identified by members of our group on our last evening together, roughly the order of our trip, with a few pictures so that you get a feel for it.

Barcelona’s sights, and especially Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia, along with the trip to a pilgrimage site, Monserrat, and the statue of the “Black Virgin. And also, a dinner with Flamenco music and dancing.

The French towns of Arles—where Van Gogh lived for a while and painted many, many pieces, some of his most famous.

The French seaside village Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer (Saints Maries by the Sea).

Roman ruins at Pont du Gard (aqueduct from the first century) and in Arles (amphitheater, same time).

The city center of Avignon, right next to the 14^th century Papal Palace and churches, along with the bridge that goes half way across the Rhone river, Sur le Pont d ‘Avignon.

The 12^th-century Cistercian Abbey of Senanque, hidden deep in an isolated valley, where we also say lavender fields nearing full bloom, and the nearby village of Gordes. The beauty of both places was stunning.

Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, five small towns (we went to three by train and boat) hugging the hills and coast.

Lake Como—on the edge of the alps, with small villages all along its long shoreline, mansions, and small village churches going back to the 10^th century,

Florence—the Duomo (Cathedral), Michaelangelo’s David, the Baptistry and Campanile, the signoria. It happened that the Tour de France bike race was beginning there a few days later and the town was decorated for it.

These were the sites mentioned, but we also saw Milan, Carcassonne, many other museums, and churches (a form of artwork in themselves), went to a Mass in the Duomo in, and ate in local restaurants, patisseries, trattoria, and enjoyed the Spanish, French and Italian foods.

Well, this gives you a taste of what we do on the Alumni and Friends Tours. It takes a couple of years of planning to set up and prepare for each one. I am working on tours for 2026 and 2027 now. We look for places of historical, cultural, religious, and natural beauty and significance. We try as much as we can to stay in places within easy walking distance to the main sites of the region or place. And we build in free time so that individuals and small groups can explore on their own.

Our group came from Fresno/Clovis, Hanford, Lemoore, and Strathmore, Bakersfield, Mendota, and Aptos, with alums and friends of Fresno Pacific, from 50 years ago to this year! In a post like this I can’t convey well the relationships that were formed or deepened, the fun we had, the moments of exhilaration, and exhaustion, the serendipitous events we encountered, and the insights into people, history, and culture that we gained. And these, when it comes down to it, are the reasons we travel.