Gregg Champion’s ASU story starts back in the late '80s. Gregg was enrolled as a journalism major in the Cronkite School of Journalism with just one semester left. But then life does what it does: it got busy.  A part-time job turned into a full-time job, which turned into a career in broadcasting. He had the work he wanted, but not the degree. And for over 20 years, that unfinished degree sat in the background.

That all changed in 2013. Gregg’s mother, a proud ASU alumna, passed away. But before she did, she asked Gregg to finish what he had started and complete his college degree. The promise to his mother and his desire to set a good example for his two children finally pushed him over the edge. Gregg realized it was time to finish what he started.

Thanks to the accessibility of ASU Online and the flexible degree building of CISA, Gregg was able to earn his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts. “Getting that degree was one of the most personally meaningful accomplishments of my life,” says Gregg. “Not because of what it looked like on paper, but because of what it took to get there. I was building a business, raising a family, and doing it all remotely from Los Angeles. Without that flexibility, it simply wouldn't have happened.”

Now, as a proud ASU graduate, Gregg brings his Sun Devil spirit to a wide range of activities. In 2017, he launched his company START UP RECOVERY, which has been honored for the last two years in the Sun Devil 100 program. He sits on the ASU Alumni Leadership Council in Los Angeles and serves on the advisory boards of Miriam's House, a yearlong recovery program for single mothers, and BOSS, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School.

Q: What was one of your favorite classes or lessons you learned from your degree?
What I enjoyed most was the interaction with the professors. Because of where I was in life when I went back to school — in my 40s, with real-world experience behind me — I found that my professors and I were often close in age. There was a genuine peer-level dialogue that I didn't expect. And I sensed, through their feedback, that they truly enjoyed my writing. I was able to weave so much lived experience into my papers — recovery, entrepreneurship, branding, human behavior, LIFE!!! — it all made the work feel alive rather than academic. It taught me something I still carry: your life experience isn't a detour from education. It's the material for the building blocks of life

Q: Tell me about your experience as a CISA student.
My ASU experience actually spans two chapters. When I was on campus as a younger student, I loved everything about Sun Devil life — Greek life, intramurals, group projects where you had to actually collaborate and deliver something real, and the incredible range of activities available year-round. ASU has an energy unlike anywhere else. It pulls you in.
When I came back later in life through ASU Online to finish my degree, the experience was completely different — but equally powerful. I was applying what I was learning in real time, every single day, while running a company and raising a family. The classroom and the real world weren't separate for me, they were the same room. I have found that's the beauty of what CISA makes possible — it meets you exactly where you are, at every stage of life

Q: Tell us about some of your accomplishments since graduation.
Since graduating in 2013, I co-founded START UP RECOVERY & WELLNESS in Pacific Palisades / Santa Monica — a transformational behavioral health organization that has helped hundreds of executives, professionals and families rebuild their lives through recovery. I created The Recovery Playbook, a proprietary curriculum now used in programs, workshops and certificate training nationwide. I delivered a TEDx talk on finding your “It Factor” and purpose. I taught entrepreneurship at USC's Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. I've mentored over 100 Millennials and Gen Z professionals into their first jobs.

Before all of that, I had a career as an award-winning writer and producer of commercials and branded entertainment, working with Fortune 500 companies including Doritos, Nike, Mattel, Barbie, Cadillac, Red Bull and Vans — and holding creative and production roles at NBC, Fox Sports and DreamWorks.

For the second consecutive year, START UP RECOVERY was named to the ASU Sun Devil 100 — ranking #26 nationally in 2026. I sit on the ASU Alumni Leadership Council in Los Angeles and serve on the advisory boards of Miriam's House (A yearlong recovery program for single mothers) and BOSS — Boulder Outdoor Survival School.

In January 2025, the Palisades Fire took our home and our business facilities – we (wife Jennifer and my three daughters) got our teeth kicked in for sure. There is no version of giving up in our story, I know I have a lot of eyes on me as I rebuild one’s life — and people are watching that story of resilience. I show my daughters each day, we suit up and show up – no matter what

Q: How did CISA prepare you for your career?
CISA taught me that the most powerful thing you can do is integrate. In behavioral health, in recovery, in entrepreneurship, in storytelling — the people who make a real impact are the ones who can hold multiple disciplines simultaneously. I call it “Functional A.D.D.” They can think like a clinician, communicate like a writer and motivate like a hall of fame coach.

Liberal arts through CISA gave me the framework for that kind of integrated thinking. It also gave me something I didn't expect: the confidence to trust my own perspective, my own voice and still go seek the data to back it up. That confidence has been worth more than any single skill I could have developed in a narrower program

Q: What is your favorite part of your career?
The moment when someone finally tells the truth.

In my work as an executive coach, there is a specific moment in every client relationship when “the performance” drops and the real person shows up. They stop telling you what they think you want to hear and start telling you the truth — about who they are, what they've done, what they're afraid of. And they “trust” me to walk with them on this journey forward.

Everything else — the business, the curriculum, the speaking, the writing, the commercials, the awards — it's all been meaningful. But I get to live up to my last name by… “Championing other people’s hopes and dreams.” Nothing compares to watching someone push the reset button on their lives

Q: What is one thing you are looking forward to?
Honestly — a lot. But let me give you the real answer.

I'm looking forward to what's coming next with START UP WELLNESS. We're building something at the intersection of recovery, wellness, and longevity that I don't think exists anywhere else right now — and that's exactly where I want to be. Integrating clinical care with Eastern medicine, biohacking, frequency healing, and purpose-driven coaching into one ecosystem. Not just for people in addiction recovery — but for high-functioning executives, professionals, and anyone who wants to optimize how they live and how long they live well. I have a little saying: "Everyone is recovering from something."

And alongside all of that — I'm genuinely excited about deepening my relationship with ASU through the alumni program. Specifically showing up for CISA students who are looking for guidance, mentorship, and a real-world perspective on what's possible after graduation. The ASU Downtown LA campus is something I want to be part of consistently. Los Angeles is my home. Having ASU right here in the city — accessible, vibrant, connected — feels like an opportunity to give back in a way that's meaningful and ongoing.

Q: What is one piece of advice you would give to a new graduate?
Don't rush the process. Trust the process.

I know that's not what you want to hear when you're ready to conquer the world. But here's what I've learned: every season has a purpose. Your 20s are for exploration — figuring out what fits and what doesn't. Your 30s are for stabilizing. Your 40s are for building. And if you're lucky, your 50s are for sharing — passing along what you've lived through to people who need to hear it.

Your degree is a foundation, not a destination. What you build on it — the experiences, the relationships, the failures, the hard-won lessons — that's what makes you exceptional.

I have a few sayings…

"You don’t earn where you learn."

"Good people know good people."

"Know a little about a lot."

"Find a mentor, let them give you their mistakes."

And one day, what you've lived through becomes exactly what someone else needs to hear.