Thank you so much to the wonderful organizers at Global Game Jam for hosting the event GGJ Next, a separate jam for high school students!

I had the honor of joining the mentors this year and assisting groups of teenagers with their games over the course of a week. The week before the jam itself, we hosted a number of workshops and speaking engagements to tour students through the world of game development, hoping to gain their interest as a potential future career.

These sorts of events are half the fun in my job, and it is a no-brainer to give back to students in the same way I needed that assistance when I was first starting out as a dev. I definitely encourage other developers to participate in future years. For that, feel free to reach out to the president of the Global Game Jam, Kate Edwards, or visit their website:

https://ggjnext.org/