The Champions Coffee Podcast

Hosted by Vygo

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Episodes

138

Latest episode

Feb 2026

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About the show

A podcast series of 10-15 minute live virtual conversations (with virtual coffee) between Ben Hallett (CEO/Co-Founder, Vygo) and various industry professionals in the education or student success space.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

February 25, 202629 min

Tréon D. McClendon | University of Missouri–Kansas City

In this special live episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, recorded at the 2025 NASPA Student Success Conference in Denver, host Ben Hallett sits down with Tréon D. McClendon, Assistant Vice Provost of Retention Initiatives at the University of Missouri–Kansas City.A national award-winning educator and first-generation college graduate, Trayon leads one of the most comprehensive student success portfolios at UMKC spanning academic advising, career services, student support, supplemental instruction, and new student orientation.He shares compelling stories from the classroom that underscore the importance of flexibility, self-awareness, and responsibility in student-facing roles. Whether adapting an icebreaker to ensure accessibility or taking a chance on a student who simply needed belief and opportunity, Trayon demonstrates how small moments of intentionality can have lasting impact.

April 29, 2024Episode 4723 min

Hiedi Wilkinson | University of Sunshine Coast

In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo’s Head of Partner Engagement for APAC, Lyndin Francis sits down with Hiedi Wilkinson from the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is currently the Equity Impact Evaluation Analyst at the University. She believes in doing work that matters, connecting with great people, and contributing to an extraordinary journey.

June 2, 2022Episode 1229 min

Matt Hoskins | Griffith University Gold Coast Student Guild

Ben sits down with Matt Hoskins from Griffith University Gold Coast Student Guild. He is currently the Head of Student Services and leads nine very talented teams in the delivery of a range of programs, events and services at the Gold Coast campus, including initiatives around student wellbeing, academic support and diversity. Matt is a proud product of Griffith University and brings over 10 years of experience in the field of student support and engagement.

April 22, 202513 min

Tim Winkler | Twig Marketing & Future Campus

In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Tim Winkler, Director at Twig Marketing and Rocketshop, and Publisher of Future Campus. With an unconventional start sterilising infectious waste in a university lab, Tim’s journey has evolved into a powerhouse career in journalism, communications, and strategy—particularly in the higher education sector.

January 10, 2023Episode 2718 min

Louise Batchelor | Bond University

Ben sits down with Louise Batchelor from Bond University. Louise is currently the Registrar at the University and has an extensive career with senior positions all across Australia, from the University of Notre Dame, the Australian Maritime College, Curtin University and Victoria University.

December 9, 202528 min

Dr. David R. Loope | Beaufort County Community College

In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Dr David R. Loope, the sixth President of Beaufort County Community College in Washington, North Carolina. Serving a four-county rural region spanning more than 2,000 square miles (and famously home to more black bears than people), Dr Loope leads with a clear mandate: student success, community engagement, and fiscal responsibility. A longtime national advocate for rural community colleges and author of Citadel and Sanctuary, he brings decades of leadership experience across policy and practice to the front lines of workforce and economic development.Ben and Dr Loope unpack what student-centred success looks like in a rural context from centralized advising that supports learners through the critical first 16–20 credits to a last-dollar scholarship model that covers tuition and fees for most credit students (9+ credits) and fully funds initial workforce certifications (50+ contact hours). The result: more credits taken, faster completion, and dramatically improved retention contributing to BCCC’s recognition as SmartAsset’s #1 community college in the nation for affordability, class size, and outcomes.Listeners will also hear a powerful student story that inspired BCCC’s plan to convert a nearby house into temporary housing for homeless students, Dr Loope’s view that grades should reflect learning not be the goal, and his call for faculty–student services alignment and thoughtful adoption of AI to build critical thinking and career readiness. It’s a candid look at how a rural college can change lives one learner, one partnership, one pragmatic innovation at a time.

December 7, 2022Episode 2618 min

Brett Berquist | University of Canterbury

Ben sits down with Brett Berquist from the University of Canterbury. Brett is the Assistant Vice Chancellor - Engagement at the University. He brings three decades of university experience in several countries, from lecturer to department head to senior administrator. His passion is collaboratively developing and implementing strategies to help institutions address changing conditions, demographics, and objectives.

October 4, 202410 min

Tania Struetzel | Southampton Solent University

In this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo's Regional Director of Partners for EMEA Hannah Gardner sits down with Tania Struetzel, Director of Student Success at Southampton Solent University. Tania is an experienced student engagement practitioner who leads the Student Success Service, which focuses on employability, student services, and achievement. With extensive experience working in and with Students' Unions, she also serves as an External Trustee at Beds SU. Tania holds a PGCert in Student Engagement in Higher Education, where she links theoretical approaches to practical, institutional outcomes, making her a key figure in driving student success and engagement in higher education.

January 21, 202621 min

Dr. Larry Galizio | Community College League of California

n this episode of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Vygo Co-Founder & Co-CEO Ben Hallett sits down with Dr. Larry Galizio, President and CEO of the Community College League of California, to explore the scale, mission, and future of the largest community college system in the United States.Ben and Dr. Galizio discuss how the League works behind the scenes to shape policy, funding, and governance in Sacramento, and how that work directly impacts student experience at scale. From championing transfer pathways and workforce-aligned education to expanding access to community college–conferred bachelor’s degrees, the conversation highlights how statewide systems can evolve to meet the needs of place-bound, working, and returning learners.This conversation is a thoughtful, systems-level look at student success—one that reminds listeners that community colleges are not only engines of workforce development, but democratic institutions that expand opportunity, mobility, and lifelong learning for millions of students across California and beyond.

July 19, 2023Episode 3525 min

Dinesh Palipana | Griffith University

In this episode of the student edition of the Champions Coffee Podcast, Sharna Silloux, Vygo’s Global Community Lead, sits down with Dr.Dinesh Palipana from Griffith University. He is a researcher and senior lecturer at Griffith University and works in the emergency department at the Gold Coast University Hospital.Dinesh is a doctor, lawyer, disability advocate, and researcher and was the first quadriplegic medical intern in Queensland. Dinesh is a senior advisor to the Disability Royal Commission, an ambassador to the Human Rights Commission’s Includeability program and a founding member of Doctors with Disabilities Australia. He was the third Australian to be awarded a Henry Viscardi Achievement Award and was the Queensland Australian of the Year for 2021.