Meet Molly: Founder of MiniWorld Magic!

by Liza Kanne, Athena’s Student

Meet Molly, a friendly, enthusiastic Athena’s student who lives in Wisconsin. When she’s not working on MiniWorld or Athena’s courses, you can find her playing Magic: The Gathering, reading, or playing with her kittens. Recently, I had a chance to ask some questions about her roles in MiniWorld.

What is MiniWorld? MiniWorld is an imaginative online subset of the social forums. It contains MiniMusic, a place where students can find music to listen to while doing homework, Ministagram, where students can find adorable photos, and a business center, where students offer virtual products and services. The business center is the most active. There, students can post stores, resorts, restaurants, or anything else that comes to mind. Sometimes, these have a Magical twist. For example, one student has a bakery where the treats fit the diner’s tastes.

Molly runs three video series meant to help students engage in MiniWorld. The first one is MiniWorld Magic, where in each video, Molly discusses an important part of MiniWorld. MiniWorld Interviews is a branch of MiniWorld Magic, where Molly interviews a student about their business. Finally, in MiniWorld Spotlight, Molly talks about a student and their business and gives a screencast tour.

Responses may be edited for clarity.

  Q. What Athena’s classes have you taken, and what ones are you taking now?

A.            Well, currently, I will be in the next semester, taking a course on different types of elections which is going to be pretty fun. My most recent course that I’ve taken is about peacemakers throughout history, which was amazing.

 Q. How long have you been at Athena’s?

A.            For about four years, and they’ve been amazing years. I mean, every time I log on to MiniWorld it just blows me away how many new ideas there are. I’m so grateful for everything Athena’s has given me.

 Q. How did you get started in MiniWorld?

A.            Well, when I was just getting started on Athena’s, I was checking out the social forums and I thought, “Why not make a store?” My mom typed out the store for me. It was a magical talismans store. I had this successful pet resort, and then when Athena’s did its update I started posting even more. It’s just been an amazing journey.

Q. What made you decide to start MiniWorld Magic?

A.            I got approached by Dr. Kirsten about it when I was a little younger. I was ecstatic about the idea. It was based on a successful pet resort that she had noticed. She decided it would be good for me to make a video series, and I jumped at that idea. I love talking about MiniWorld and educating people about it.

Q. Do you have a favorite video? 

A.            My favorite video so far is Surveys, Quizzes, and Polls, Oh My!. I just loved talking about those platforms. It’s a great way to gauge what people are thinking of your store and how you can improve. It also was the first video that I used screencasts on, and I just think screencasts are such a great tool. 

Q. What video was the most challenging to make?

A.            Probably my introduction video. I was just getting started, and wasn’t as good at editing or working with a team. I didn’t even know how to cut film!

Q. What do you enjoy most about MiniWorld?