The Montclair State University community is mourning the loss of Charles Storck, a senior film major who died on Dec. 4.
Storck was 21 years old and resided in Pennington, New Jersey. The film faculty held a Zoom meeting on Dec. 9 to provide resources and support to the students who knew Storck.
Dr. Jude Uy, a staff psychologist for Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), attended the meeting. Uy shared that CAPS is currently working on a guide on how students and faculty can cope with student deaths.
“What we’ve been working on for the past year or so is developing procedures and protocol with regards to student deaths, how best to memorialize them, how best to discuss and approach difficult topics and have conversations, not just from faculty, but as well as with students,” Uy said.
Ben Wolf, an adjunct film professor who teaches principles of cinematography, enjoyed having Storck in his class.
“Charles was a student of mine in the spring 2019 semester,” Wolf said. “He was a pleasure to have in class and I often saw him assisting fellow students during class.”
Brandon Leventhal, a senior film major, believes that Storck was a very talented filmmaker.
“Charlie was really smart; anything he did, he did it immaculately,” Leventhal said. “When making movies, he had a unique way of telling stories and knew how to make them good. He was the most important part of any crew with his handiness and general knowledge.”
Leventhal added that Storck had many other hobbies.
“He was an amazing musician, like stuff he’d play just for fun would be some of the most beautiful pieces of music you’ve ever heard,” Leventhal said. “He was also an amazing cook. Beyond that, he was funny, he’d always have a joke at the right time and it would always land.”
Harrison Hugh Kraft, a senior film major, lived with Storck.
“Charlie and I had a unique sense of humor that others wouldn’t understand,” Kraft said. “He was the sweetest and most considerate human being that anyone will ever have met.”
Jo-el Gordon, a senior film major, met Storck when he was a freshman and spent a lot of time with him.
“We’ve been in class together, we’ve been on sets together and we used to eat together from time to time,” Gordon said. “His unfortunate passing has left me shocked, numb and in an odd sense, frustrated.”
The university is continuing to plan events to honor Storck throughout winter break.
