From first-year struggles to award-winning solutions: The rise of UFV Baker Battles

Hayden Koppes (centre) came up with Baker Battles as a way to bring learners in UFV student housing together.

In his first year at UFV, student Hayden Koppes just wanted an easier way to meet people. Today, the program he built to solve that problem is bringing an entire building together and gaining recognition across Western Canada.

Baker Battles has surpassed Hayden’s expectations, uniting students in the Lá:lem te Baker residence on the Abbotsford campus. Recently, it earned him individual recognition at the annual LEAD Conference, a gathering for students who work in student housing.

The Western Canadian gathering for post-secondary student leaders living and working in residence took place Oct. 24–26 in Alberta. Hayden, a fifth-year student and Lá:lem te Baker resident, spent nearly an hour sharing the story of Baker Battles — a project that’s come to life over the last 18 months. His energy and enthusiasm lit up the room as he presented Gamifying Belonging: A Residence Life Revolution. The presentation earned him the Best in the West award for the most engaging, innovative, and informative active session.

The origins of Baker Battles date back to 2021, when Hayden was a first-year student struggling to find community in the tail end of the pandemic. Restrictions made it difficult to meet people, and the experience stuck with him.

Team trivia competitions have been a key feature of Baker Battles.

“That’s what inspired me to be a community assistant at Lá:lem te Baker,” he says. “I knew what I would have loved to experience in my first year, and what I wanted future students to experience.”

A lifelong lover of games, Hayden drew inspiration from the Harry Potter films, where four houses of wizarding students — Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin — compete throughout the year. He began imagining how that structure could work in Lá:lem te Baker. Soon, each of the building’s four floors became a “house,” and he spent the summer designing the competition. The first Baker Battles event was a game-show mashup — part Jeopardy, part Family Feud — with questions tailored to residence life.

“I focus the game shows on whatever the theme of the month is: collaboration, resilience, identity,” he says. “If the theme is activity, I’ll include more sports questions. If it’s wellness, I might add yoga or pilates.”

Baker Battles has since expanded into a collaborative effort, partnering with UFV Student Wellness, the Pride Collective, and UFV Student Change Makers on themed activities and events. Samantha Szalajko, who attended the LEAD Conference with Hayden and has run several Baker Battles events, says it’s become a fun and welcoming way for students to engage with both housing and the wider UFV community.

“We had Code Baker, a semester-long scavenger hunt in an Amazing Race style,” she says. “A weekly clue connected you with someone who gave you your next challenge. It’s a fun way to incorporate UFV’s various people and departments into the games, and as a result, connect playing students to those people”.

Hayden says the program has been especially helpful for newcomers — exactly as he intended.

“Because it starts at the beginning of the semester, it immediately gives people something to focus on and talk about,” he says. “New students may feel intimidated or homesick, and Baker Battles brings them together, gives them a sense of belonging, and gives them something else to think about besides, ‘Oh gosh. I have to make food now.’”

With a new student housing building nearly complete across the street, the potential for an expanded Baker Battles is significant.

“There are so many possibilities for how this program can evolve,” Hayden says. “The core will always be teams competing in games and activities throughout the semester, but the more we involve other departments and new ideas, the better it will be.

“The sky’s the limit.”

— Hayden and Samantha earned a second honour at the LEAD Conference, winning the Case Study Competition. Teams were given a roommate conflict scenario and a few hours to prepare a five-minute presentation outlining their approach to resolving it. Their group performed a short skit followed by a clear, informative discussion of conflict-resolution steps — a presentation that judges selected as the top entry.