Council member Gallian names scholarship winner

Aspiring wildlife cinematographer Thomas Conaway is the recipient of Sonoma City Councilwoman Laurie Gallian’s second annual Sonoma Sustainability Scholarship.

The scholarship is awarded to a recent Sonoma Valley High School graduate, planning to attend Santa Rosa Junior College in the upcoming school year, with a desire to improve the environment.

Gallian made the $1,500 scholarship possible by deferring her council pay from January through June. She began the program in 2009 after learning SRJC Doyle scholarships would not be available.

Conaway has been making videos since he was nine. His work has been shown at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival and at the Sonoma Art Museum. He has experience making different types of videos, including a music video for friends, but said, “I especially enjoy making wildlife documentaries in order to educate people about the need to protect habitat and restore streams.”
He added, “My dream job would be to work for National Geographic or the Discovery Channel.”

After completing general education classes at SRJC, Conaway intends to transfer to a college with a film program.
Conaway also comfortably discusses that he was in a serious automobile accident when he was four, and that his resulting spinal cord injury left him with no feeling or movement in his lower body.

“Over the years I have learned to write, type, play video games, and pretty much do anything else you can think of, but just a little different than everyone else,” he said.

The high school’s scholarship selection committee conducted the process of choosing the Sonoma Sustainability Scholarship winner. Gallian said she hopes to expand the program in the future by getting other community members to contribute.