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Dawson Dunning

Biography

The hardest decision of his life, says Dawson Dunning, was choosing between pursuing a college degree in science and staying on the family ranch to help out during the worst drought since the 1930s. After much consideration and with the backing of his family, he chose to leave and support himself through college, earning enough scholarships to shoulder the financial burden. Dawson says he would make the same decision today because leaving the family ranch during such a dire time gave him an even greater passion for conservation.

Dawson wants to study filmmaking because he believes it is a tool underused by scientists. "The world's greatest science and natural history stories remain hidden, tucked away in obscure scientific journals so full of jargon that a typical person could not recognize the language," he says. "I aim to explore a career as a conservation biologist using science and natural history filmmaking to promote our planet's most important conservation messages."

After he completes his film degree, Dawson intends to get a Ph.D. in biology with an emphasis on fish ecology and evolution. Ultimately, he hopes to found a nonprofit organization that focuses on facilitating collaboration among conservation agencies, universities, and science and natural history filmmakers.

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