Christian screenwriter Jalysa Conway recently visited Walla Walla University for several days to share with university students and community members the realities of professional screenwriting and her own unique journey to success.
Conway has worked on television series like Grey’s Anatomy and 9-1-1: Lone Star and is currently collaborating with Spike Lee and Rebecca Murge on a film called Liberty. Through her experiences with these projects and others, Conway offers valuable advice from the perspective of both an executive and a writer.
One of Conway’s first events was a pitch lunch. This presented WWU screenwriting students with an opportunity to practice pitching script ideas and ask questions in one-on-one informal interviews. One of the student interviewees, Isabella Narvaez, a sophomore social work major and film minor, said, “I liked how chill it was. There was no projector, and I wasn’t standing for my pitch, but I was having a respectable conversation with Jalysa Conway. She gave me valuable, constructive feedback about the pitch.”
Conway also facilitated a mock writer’s room that was open to students from the other colleges in the Walla Walla Valley. Participating students were challenged to flesh out the concept of a King Arthur story, but with a female Artoria lead and a Punk Rock feel. With Conway leading the discussion as the show runner, students developed their main character, side characters, and a narrative arch for an eight-episode series.
Jasmine Edmundson, WWU sophomore aviation technology major and film minor, joined the mock writer’s room because she loves “all the creativity and hard work that goes on behind the scenes of movies and tv shows.” She felt this event did a great job of simulating a professional writer’s room, and she enjoyed seeing their script come together.
Conway’s busy schedule also included a Q&A style colloquium about resilience and daring to dream big that was attended by students from a variety of majors and community members; a meet and greet hosted by the Black Student Christian Forum club and Berean Fellowship; guest speaking for select film classes, and more.
Her impactful visit would not have been possible without the support it received from across the WWU campus, said Marion Ruybalid, assistant with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Funding for the visit was provided by multiple WWU departments, but most significantly from the Donald Black Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity, and Culture—which was founded in honor of former WWU department of Biological Sciences faculty member Dr. Donald Blake.
Lauren Vizcarra, WWU senior strategic communication major, attended a couple of Conway’s events. She loved how Conway shared her experience being a Christian screenwriter in Hollywood and said, “She gave this advice that will always stick with me: God opens doors for us—we just need to be prepared to walk through them.”
Posted April 2, 2025.
