Mike Bennett, Maintenance Technician III, jokes that working at Blackhawk Technical College has been “The longest two weeks of my life.”

That’s because, as a young man, Mike visited a staffing company to find a new job after trying out a couple of different employers. 

“They gave me two choices: Gray Brewing Company in Janesville or Blackhawk Technical College for two weeks,” he said.

Obviously, he chose Blackhawk, and those initial two weeks stretched into a 38-year career. He is now looking forward to retiring on May 29. 

A rising leader

Beginning his career at Blackhawk in the Maintenance department, he was initially responsible for moving equipment and doing odd jobs. His manager liked his work ethic and decided to keep him on as a fill-in worker for the Custodial department, which worked three shifts.

“During that time, I was able to demonstrate my skills at working with my hands and was hired into the Maintenance department, which is where I strived to be because of the variety of work I was able to perform,” Mike says.

He worked in maintenance for about 10 years before becoming the lead maintenance worker, today called Maintenance Technician III. During his time at Blackhawk, Mike says he has enjoyed tackling the wide range of job duties, being able to maintain multiple campuses, and working with all the friendly employees. If he could do his career over again, he wouldn’t do anything differently.

“The Maintenance team has put in a lot of work and hours to shape the department to make it what it is today,” he said.

His favorite memory is being a part of the Accreditation Committee. 

“As part of the committee, we had a training event in Chicago,” he said. “It was a wild experience for me to go and spend time in a big city because you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy.”

Building skills

When Mike was a student at Parker High School in Janesville, he loved working with his hands. He took every shop course he could. 

Later, while working at Blackhawk, he completed a degree in Supervisory Management and, later, a Leadership Academy. He put these skills to use in his daily work.

The biggest change for him during his career was using a computer to manage the maintenance work and the building automation system.

What’s next?

In retirement, Mike says he will be fishing, hunting, camping, building things, doing some traveling, “and watching the grandchildren occasionally.” He is still an avid bowler, participating in leagues, tournaments and coaching. 

As he is preparing to retire, his advice for anyone starting their career is to “work hard … and the next thing you know, you’ve been here for 38 years!”