Meet Allison Munck ’27 Munck has pursued her filmmaking passion through class projects, summer research and the Film Society Club.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
December 17, 2024

Allison Munck ’27
Hometown: Midway, Utah
Majors/Minors: Undeclared (strategic communication)

Why did you choose to come to W&L?
I wanted a change of scene from my Utah community. Forever grateful for the place I grew up, I wanted to use college as an opportunity to move away from home and spend time around more diversity. W&L was perfect because, although the small town and access to the natural world is reminiscent of home, I’m surrounded by a myriad of ideas, opportunities and people that I otherwise would never have met. W&L has given me the opportunity to travel up and down the East Coast and even the world while having a safe place to land when I miss the peace and quiet of Lexington.

Where is your “home” on campus?
I feel most at home on the back campus trails! I’m a runner, so having the natural world so accessible is one of my favorite things. Running through the trails early in the morning and catching the fog coming off the Maury River is one of the most beautiful things ever. I’ve also had some incredible sunset conversations at the gazebo and spent so much of my summer playing in the river with friends.

What was your favorite class and why?
My favorite class has been Journalism 202: Introduction to Digital Journalism. The class has consisted of a number of projects that have gotten me out of my comfort zone and has allowed me to engage with the Lexington community. I’ve gone out with a camera to take photos for the course and met some incredible people out and about in the community. Further, I had the opportunity to work with the Lexington Fire Department for a broadcast journalism project. For my final, I’m doing a big multimedia story on Thunder Bridge, an artist co-op in Arnold’s Valley. I’ve gotten to meet a number of incredible creatives and work in some lovely spaces shooting interviews and taking pictures.

What are your hobbies/interests? How has W&L helped you develop and pursue them?
I spent a lot of my high school career filmmaking, and W&L has helped me continue to pursue that passion in ways I never expected. I had the opportunity this summer to work on an SRS (Summer Research Scholars) project with associate professor of theater Stephanie Sandberg working on pre-production for a documentary series titled “Compassion in Action.” I’ve been fortunate enough to stay involved with the project over the fall semester, helping with shooting interviews for the pilot episode on restorative justice. Over the summer, I also produced a historical fiction film about the beginning of the co-education movement and W&L in 1970. The film, funded by a university grant, gave me the opportunity to work with Special Collections for historical research and also meet with W&L alumni who attended the school in the ’70s. Further, this fall, I helped restart the Film Society here at W&L. The W&L Film Society Club had been inactive for a few years but since bringing it back to life, I’ve been able to compete in the Adrenaline Film Project (a 72-hour short film competition) and shoot a short comedy film here at W&L, aimed at involving the wider student body in the sometimes exclusive endeavor of filmmaking.

Have you studied abroad during your time at W&L? Where did you go, and how was your experience?
I did a Spring Term Abroad in Dingle, Ireland. We studied music, culture and literature, and it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I made some incredible connections with some of my fellow W&L students while also getting out of my comfort zone in a music-based STA. I’ll also be going abroad this winter/spring to Copenhagen, Denmark, and Rabat, Morocco.

Fun fact:
I dance West Coast swing, a style of improv partner/social dancing. It’s been fun to teach people around me to dance, and I’m hoping to build a bigger community at W&L. Right now, I spend a lot of my weekends in Charlottesville or Lynchburg, dancing.