Ava Munyer demonstrated stewardship, earned national titles while staying committed to service
Finance alumna Ava Munyer (‘26) is a perfect example of what it looks like to embrace all that Belmont has to offer. Now, she’s encouraging future students to do the same.
The Idaho native became president of Belmont Enactus, earned national recognition in speech and debate, managed real investments through the TVA Investment Club and studied abroad. If that wasn't enough, she also secured a highly competitive position with AllianceBernstein after graduation, where she will continue developing her knowledge base in high finance.
Looking back, Munyer credits Belmont for giving her the chances to engage in a variety of activities, cultivate relationships and create experiences that shaped her college years in the best possible way.
“Belmont gave me profound opportunities,” Munyer shared. “Across the board, I’ve been able to interact with communities, speak to issues I care about, build meaningful projects, intern and work in fascinating industries.”
A Tour That Changed Everything
Munyer never planned to visit Belmont, let alone thrive as a Bruin.
During a summer trip to Nashville, she noticed campus from the window of a car and decided to learn more.
"When we drove by, I was like, 'Okay, what is this giant, impressive white marble building I'm staring at?' So I toured in the dead of summer. There was no student activity on campus, but I was really enthralled by the study abroad opportunities as well as the growing position of the business school.”
Like many students and alumni, Munyer saw the unique benefit of receiving a business education in a creative environment like Music City.
“I was really enamored with Nashville and the balance of having access to artistry and life in an urban setting while also having a rich business community that seemed to be on an upward trajectory. It was a happy medium between the small town that I grew up in and going to a major metropolitan area."
A Community Built on Kindness
Munyer identified that one characteristic consistently stood out across her numerous involvements.
"I think we have an exceptionally kind student body, and I've seen that reflected through a lot of the service-oriented work that I've had the pleasure of being a part of,” she said. "I've spent four years serving food-insecure families, formerly incarcerated populations and working to build social enterprises across Nashville. I've done this in collaboration with students who are uniquely kind and motivated to impact the community around them.
A Comeback Story: Rebuilding Belmont Enactus
Few experiences have defined Munyer's Belmont journey more than Enactus, a student-led social entrepreneurship organization dedicated to developing business initiatives that drive positive community impact across the city.
After joining as a freshman, she became president during her sophomore year when the organization was still rebuilding post-pandemic.
During her time as president, she generated new partnerships and student interest, growing membership from a handful of students to nearly 30 and cultivating new relationships with multiple community partners throughout Nashville including the Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, Cul2vate and Dream Streets, among others. To top it off, this year, Belmont Enactus earned national recognition as the Enactus USA Early-Stage Champion.
For Munyer, the experience transformed her understanding of leadership.
"I've learned the true power of servant leadership through Enactus,” she said. "When we take the time to learn about people's struggles and challenges and build solutions that meet them where they are, our leadership efforts actually pay off and we're able to build really powerful models that serve our community."
Throughout the organization's resurgence, Enactus students have specifically worked to addressed food insecurity needs in Nashville. The national championship marked a crowning achievement for years of work.
"It's an incredible privilege to be a part of the first team to bring back a national championship title for Belmont for the first time in 14 years,” she said. “I'm so proud that we are turning over an organization that is stronger than what we inherited and in a position to build even bigger impact than what we were able to make in the past four years."
On Belmont's Speech and Debate team her senior year, Munyer [pictured left] won state titles in radio broadcast, informative and persuasive speaking took third overall at the state competition and placed second nationally in persuasive speaking.
Munyer was a sector head for the TVA Investment Club. Belmont's team outperformed the market and claimed first place at the 2026 TVA Investment Challenge competition.
Munyer [pictured left] built strong friendship with co-presidents Lily Stockwell and Jack Perry.
In 2025, Belmont's Enactus team was recognized as Rookie of the Year at the 2025 US Expo.
Belmont's team took first in Early Stage and second in Impact Stage at 2026 Enactus U.S. Expo
Making Her Mark Through Speech and Debate
In her senior year, Munyer added another accomplishment to her growing list of involvements by joining Belmont's nationally recognized speech and debate team.
The experience culminated in three state titles, a third-place overall state finish and a national runner-up finish in persuasive speaking.
"Speech and debate is a really unique environment where you see young students bringing issues they are incredibly passionate about and advocating for in a very intense way,” she said.
"It was such a foundation in the power of public speaking and what it means to have effective advocacy.”
Her Advice to Future Bruins
When asked what advice she would give incoming students, Munyer's answer is simple: get involved.
"Absolutely get involved, and try to get involved in things that look outside yourself or your immediate interests,” she said. "This is a uniquely kind community where students really show up for each other. Finding ways to look outside yourself while also finding the community that will support you on your tougher days is where I'd start."
Discovering the Possibilities of Finance
Munyer initially chose finance because she wanted a practical degree that could depend on after graduation.
Belmont helped her see the range of opportunities available within the field.
"One of the largest things Belmont did for me is place me in Nashville and open my eyes to all of the roles that are out there in terms of what my finance degree could bring,” she said. “Coming from a small town in northern Idaho, it exposed me to opportunities I didn't even know existed."
Her experiences in the TVA Investment Club, internships and Enactus projects helped connect classroom concepts to real-world applications.
That preparation led to a summer internship at AllianceBernstein, where she secured a full-time position as an investment rotational associate in their pipeline associate program.
“It was the most incredible experience of my life,” she noted. “Getting to work in a fast paced, high intensity and intellectually curious environment every single day where we were learning something new or exposed to something new every single day was transformational.”
In the two-year associate program, Munyer will continue developing her professional experience and knowledge based for high finance by rotate through different areas and departments within investments at the company.
Finance Is Anything but Boring
For students who assume finance is all spreadsheets and numbers, Munyer offers a different perspective.
"I think finance gets this misnomer of being super stuffy or boring, and certainly we spend time in spreadsheets, but the information we're dealing with and the questions we're asking are so timely and so relevant," she shared. "Every single headline could have some kind of financial implication. We're trying to understand what's happening today and extrapolate what that means 10, 20 or 30 years into the future. That's a really unique challenge, and I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another industry where you're doing that to the same degree every single day."
Business as a Tool for Good
Munyer’s family instilled a deep awareness of the opportunities afforded her, sparking a commitment to service long before she came to Belmont.
"When I came to college, I felt really indebted with a sense of responsibility to pay back to my community some of the profound blessings I'd been gifted."
Over time, however, her perspective evolved.
"As I've grown in my leadership and in my time at Belmont and in Enactus, I've realized that was not the most constructive way to frame my service. What I've learned is that what is truly transformational is the relationships that are built along the way. Regardless of the success of our programs, we've made lifelong relationships with people from different backgrounds and communities,” she said.
“I think that's what's really gratifying and what I'll carry forward with me. There is an innate value in the relational aspect of this work outside of the outcomes."
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