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Conner replaces Hawing in college office

Kathleen Hawing held a crucial position in the Sonoma Valley High School College and Career Center, particularly in the intensely busy period during which seniors are tackling college applications. Mid-stride, Hawing was chosen to fill the school’s vacant vice-principal position. Help has just arrived, however, in the form of Lisa Conner, who took over running the center late last month. Conner now works full-time alongside part-time employee Mary Klenow in the busy office.

Conner has taught in both public and private schools in Sonoma and the East Bay. She was the GATE teacher, leadership teacher and art teacher at Adele Harrison Middle School before moving over to the high school last year to teach art. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art from UCLA and her teaching credential is from Cal State Long Beach.

Conner moved to Sonoma eight years ago from Alameda with her husband and two sons. Her eldest, Niko, graduated from Sonoma Valley High in 2009 and he is a now senior at UC Berkeley. Her younger son, Alex, graduated last year and he is a now freshman at Yale University.

Active in the community, Conner currently serves on the board of the Sonoma Plein Air Foundation and on the Sonoma Valley High School Site Council. She is also a mentor with the Sonoma Valley Mentoring Alliance.

Sonoma Valley High School’s College and Career Center provides assistance to students with college planning and research, testing, applications, financial aid and scholarships, as well as working closely with the school’s Career & Technical Education programs and student employment during and after high school.

Conner is typically at the College and Career Center from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. She has hit the ground running, and on a recent Wednesday morning was found hard at work helping a senior on the Common Application website. Speaking of her work, she said, “I look forward to working individually with our SVHS students, supporting them with the resources they need to attend the college of their dreams or to pursue the career of their choice. The CCC is for all our students and Mrs. Klenow and I hope to see each and every Dragon here.”