Trimeka Benjamin brings back one of the most meaningful episodes of Deep Dives: The Other Side of the Mic. When it first aired, she didn’t realize how much it would reveal about her own journey, or how deeply it would resonate with listeners.

As we gear up for a brand-new special episode, this revisit is a reminder of what Deep Dives is all about: real impact, honest storytelling, and pushing higher education forward.

Whether it’s your first listen or a fresh one, this episode is worth the dive.

Deep Dives returns with a powerful message from Trimeka Benjamin, President & CEO of Swim Digital Group. In this chapter-opening episode, Trimeka shares the heart behind founding Swim, what’s broken in higher ed, and why true transformation requires integrity, alignment, and a relentless focus on students.

It’s purpose-driven, honest, and a grounding reminder of why this work matters. The next chapter starts here.

Communities in the Appalachian Region often experience isolation and economic disparity due to the geography of the region and the decline of the coal industry. Gayle Manchin, Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), talks about the funding initiatives provided to communities within the region to revitalize the economy. She shares how the programs are focused on strategies that connect students to the automotive industry, reintegrate members of the community affected by the Opioid crisis, and expand broadband access throughout the region.

Students living in rural communities have an entrepreneurial mindset because they are already accustomed to having a lack of access to resources. 

Today, Dr. Rebecca Corbin talks about her work at NACCEE and details how their projects support community colleges in their effort to expand access to education. She discusses their work with students who are experiencing the digital divide in order to educate them and increase their generational wealth through partnerships with organizations such as Verizon.

Strong business and community partnerships are essential to the success of Workforce Development programs in higher education. Dr. Micheal McDonough talks about approach to building strong business partnerships at the New Jersey Consortium of Community Colleges and at Raritan Valley Community College. He discusses internships, apprenticeships and job opportunities that contribute to student success; and alignment of course curriculum with labor market needs.

“If we don’t do something and do it now, we are going to have some problems down the road” says Dr. Daria Willis, President of Howard Community College. Dr. WIllis discusses the importance of community colleges that are able to be agile and flexible in order to respond to the needs of the community that the college is located, and the critical need to focus on student success rather than transfer rates to four-year institutions, as well as the integration of all students into the larger college community.

Dr. Kimberly Moore is a trailblazer for workforce development, and in this episode, she’ll share lessons learned in her decade of experience. Dr. Moore discusses the importance of building an integrated workforce system in order to keep up with the constantly changing labor market, and shares examples of how Tallahassee Community College is doing just that by working with formerly incarcerated students and forming new partnerships with Amazon.

Dr. Williams explores the journey to become the president of St. Petersburg College as an internal candidate. She'll share   the work she put in at St. Petersburg College prior to becoming president, her willingness to fail to achieve her goal, the community of care platform she developed, why the employee experience is as important as the student experience, challenges she faced and more.

Broward College President Gregory Adam Haile, J.D. shares how the Broward UP model was created to better the community through an educated workforce. He discusses how partnerships were built with local non-profit organizations, municipalities and businesses to create an improved pathway that better prepares Broward residents to successfully enter the workforce.

As a follow-up to the conversation with Dr. García in Episode 2, Dr. Neal will share the work done with program efficiency, flexible schedules and career assessments to improve success rates of working learners.