Brandon Giles is the recipient of Blackhawk Technical College’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award, which recognizes a graduate who exemplifies the value of a technical college education through leadership, creativity, community involvement, professional commitment, and a reflection of the broader community.

After earning an associate degree in Medical Laboratory Technician from Blackhawk in 2013, Brandon began his career at Beloit Health System as a Bench Technician. He was promoted to Laboratory Information System (LIS) Coordinator in 2015, and in 2022, he advanced to Director of Laboratory, Respiratory, Sleep, and EEG, overseeing the lab and three other departments. A lifelong Beloit resident, Brandon was born in the very hospital where he now works.

When Brandon graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 2003, he was interested in fire service and took some classes at Blackhawk. But despite working for a fire department for 10 years, he decided to pivot.

“Fire service jobs were hard to come by from 2003 until about 2020,” he said. “It was a very, very competitive field to get into. I would apply for full-time jobs, and they’d be hiring one or two people, and there were like 500 applicants. I then kind of paused for a little bit. I stopped going to Blackhawk.” 

It was in 2004 when Brandon began working at Beloit Health System as a phlebotomist. The next few years working at the hospital helped him find his passion.

“My niche was in the laboratory,” he said. “I was like, you know what? I think I can make a career out of lab. I enjoy it. I know it makes sense to me.”

In 2010, Brandon chose Blackhawk for his Medical Laboratory Technician degree.

“I chose Blackhawk because it’s in my neighborhood. And I would be able to attend the Monroe campus, which is about a 35- or 40-minute drive, which wasn’t too bad. So, I decided to  go through Blackhawk Tech, and I was accepted into the program,” he said.

After the class work was done, Brandon did his clinical work at Beloit Health System before graduating in May 2013. Since then, he has kept learning. In 2018, he earned a bachelor’s degree from Weber State through an online program. Then in 2021, he completed a master’s degree program through George Washington University.

“Blackhawk started it all,” he said.

Although Brandon acknowledges that his educational journey was unconventional, he urges students facing challenges to keep pushing forward.

“Don’t get discouraged, even if you think maybe you’re not in the right program. I know the counselors at Blackhawk were really good about sitting with me and getting the correct career path and correct classes that I needed to achieve what my vision was. So, don’t give up! Work with all the resources that Blackhawk Tech has at its disposal. It’s a lot of hard work, but in the end, it’s worth it,” he said.

Brandon will be honored at the Golden Brick Awards, held Wednesday, June 4, at Blackhawk's Beloit-Janesville Campus. More Information