Every October, the WKU photojournalism department travels to a different town in Kentucky to spend a week documenting the community.

This year the group traveled to Frankfort for the 40th Annual Mountain Workshops.

Over the course of the week, students were mentored by professionals from the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Time Magazine and other publications.

The students produced dozens of video pieces and more than 40 photo stories.

“It’s a nonstop visual immersion,” photojournalism professor and Mountain Workshops director Tim Broekema said. “To be surrounded by that for four straight days is an education that you don’t get sitting in a classroom for three hours a week.”

In the following story, WKU junior Nicholas Wagner, of Ada, Minnesota documented Arnold Clark, an 87-year-old master of flattery whose presence demands attention every time he walks inside a room.