Teacher Spotlight: Mikwonjilian Antwih

TEACHER: Mikwonjilian Antwih

TEACHER COHORT: Detroit

SCHOOL: Detroit School of Arts

SUBJECT AREA: Graphic Design

GRADE LEVEL TAUGHT: High School

YEARS PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM: 2

Mikwonjilian Antwih is a dedicated and hands-on graphic design teacher from the Student Challenge’s Detroit cohort. As a newcomer last year, she and her students pulled out all the stops and won awards and recognition in the 2021 competition (you can check out her Leadership Award acceptance speech video on the Challenge YouTube Channel)! 

We want to thank Mikwonjilian and her students for bringing so much creativity and talent to the program. G4C is revving up for the 2022 competition (open February 1 – April 8) and we look forward to seeing what the students at the Detroit School of Arts make this year. Read on to find out more about Mikwonjilian and what her students are up to.

Q: What would students be surprised to learn about you?

A: Students would be surprised to learn that I love apple pie but not the baked apples, just the pie crust, and filling.

Q: If your life became a video game, what genre would it be?

A:  If my life became a video game it would be a puzzle game. Solve this code or puzzle to get to the next level.

Q: If you were trapped in a video game, what would be your key item?

A: A magic wand or bookbag, that way I could get whatever I needed to survive.

Q: What made you decide to participate in the G4C Student Challenge? How many years have you participated?

A: This will be my second year participating in the G4C Student Challenge. I was introduced to this program by my principal. After the first year of fun and adventure I decided to try it again with my students this year.

Q: What types of skills have your students built through this program?

A: Skills my students have learned are problem-solving, coding, communication, teamwork, and confidence to name a few.

Q: Tell us about one of your students’ successes.

A: I had a student who truly surprised me. Being new to the entire program as a teacher and trying to teach my students, my personal expectations weren’t very high. I just wanted my students to complete the course, learn a little something, and hopefully have fun while doing it. He had done some coding with Unity before and just created a lovely game beyond what my skillset and teaching could have taught him. I was super proud when his game won a prize.

Q: What type of environment do you strive to create in your classroom?

A: I try to set an atmosphere of calm and relaxation in my classroom, with a touch of, “I will still be your friend, love you, and fail you if you don’t get your work done.”

Q: What accomplishment are you most proud of as a teacher this year?

A: I think my proudest accomplishment this year as a teacher is learning to give myself grace, as a teacher, as a person, and as an artist.

Q: Do you have any words of advice for other educators teaching game design?

A: My words of advice would be to have fun. Truly have fun, don’t stress yourself out because you don’t understand something, that is where the G4C community will step in and help you. Attend the Game Jams even if your students don’t it will help in the long run. Lastly, put the majority of the weight to learn on your students, they will surprise you how quickly they catch on and soar.

Play the winning games created by Saundra’s students for the 2021 G4C Student Challenge competition!