Mays MasterCast

Born and raised in Bryan/College Station, Ben Wiggins ’07 decided to explore life in the big cities of Houston and Los Angeles. He thought he’d left the Brazos Valley behind, but ultimately was in for a surprise when he returned to his hometown in 2016 to enroll in Mays Business School’s MBA program. “Coming back from LA, I wondered if I would run into culture shock, but instead I was walking back into my own house,” he said. “As I went through the MBA program, I thought to myself, ‘This is my place. I believe in the message of this place. How can I help get that message out into the world?”

Wiggins used his drive and unique background – which included working on two podcasts while in LA – to bring that desire to fruition. The result, Mays MasterCast, launched in 2019 to encourage lifelong learning among the listening audience, which includes prospective students, current students, former students, faculty, staff, and interested stakeholders.

Each episode is designed to offer a-ha moments for listeners. “We want people to have counterintuitive insight that makes you say, ‘Oh, that’s an interesting way of looking at it,’” Wiggins said. “We hope that our show, in addition to being entertaining, engaging, and something that you want to show up and listen to, will help listeners say, ‘We’re all part of this together, but there’s also stuff that we can learn little by little over the course of our entire lives.’”

A five-member team works together to identify guests and plan each episode. Wiggins is joined as a producer by Bailey Lenzen, Mays Program Coordinator who facilitates the integration of the Mays Transformational Leadership (MTL) initiative into the school’s curricular and extracurricular experiences, and Kyle Ackerman ’19, who edits the podcast’s audio and video. Mays Interim Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Shannon Deer serves as Executive Producer while Peyton Faltys ’20 is the podcast’s Production Coordinator. Wiggins also credits Julie Faulkner ’20 and Meghan Barcinski ’20 with being instrumental in assisting with the podcast during its formative period.

The podcast addresses a wide range of business topics. For example, Nathan Wolfe ’08, Netflix’s former Head of Non-Fiction Co-Productions, described the streaming giant’s strategy and culture. Tony Okoromadu, Mays Assistant Director of the Corporate Finance Program and Executive Assistant Professor of Finance, talked about the challenge of adopting a global mindset. Marci Corry ’01, the Founder of Safe2Save, offered her insights into the cellular pandemic caused by “teching” while driving.

The podcast’s expanding audience appreciates this diversity of speakers and their perspectives. “I think of Mays MasterCast as a toolbox that is filled with tools of a variety of size, shape, and situation-specific use,” said Dwight Groves ’08, an insurance adviser for Program Insurance Group in Bryan, TX. “I understand and recognize that one specific episode may not apply to a project, problem, or opportunity that I am facing now. However, that tool is there, and I know that it will be beneficial in the future. MasterCast provides a low-barrier opportunity for me to continue learning.”