12/1/2025

After completing her BA and MFA at WCSU, Mikayla Silkman is now an adjunct professor teaching in the Kathwari Honors Program and the Department of Creative & Professional Writing. During the spring semester, Silkman will serve as Interim Assistant Director of the Honors Program until April.  

Silkman credits her own Honors Program experience with developing her passion for teaching. As an undergraduate, serving as a teaching assistant helped her realize that she wanted to become a professor. Silkman was one of the first Kathwari Honors Graduate Fellows while completing her MFA in Creative & Professional Writing, which helped her hone her teaching craft. “This hands-on approach to education helped me become more confident in the classroom, pushed me to consider new ways to approach class discussion and assignments, and helped ready me to enter the world as a working professional,” Silkman says. She also appreciated the individualized attention she received from her MFA mentors, who spent “quality one-on-one time with both [her] and [her] writing.”  

The Honors Program also helped Silkman develop her interests outside of the classroom. She enjoyed attending Honors events, volunteering on campus, and making lifelong connections with her peers. These experiences pushed her to keep exploring outside of her comfort zone. Silkman says, “I tried so many new things during my time at WCSU, and all of them led to incredible things. I learned that I love to ski, that I love backpacking and hiking and rock climbing… and I even met my now-husband in a class at WCSU that someone encouraged me to take as an elective.” While Silkman knows that academic performance is important, she recommends finding balance. “So many students (especially our hardworking Honors students), base too much of their self-worth and happiness on their grades. One day, your GPA won’t matter, but you’ll spend the rest of your life with yourself. Become someone you like spending time with!”