Inspiring Graduate: Brandon Dick, M.S. Manufacturing Engineering

Even though he was a track and field athlete at UW-Stout, Brandon Dick decided he didn’t want to sprint through his time at the university. 

Partway through his UW-Stout undergraduate experience, Dick decided to stay at the university an additional year to pursue an accelerated master’s degree in manufacturing engineering. It didn’t hurt that he had an extra year of athletic eligibility because of the pandemic and that he was already a lab tech for Paul Craig, program director for both the B.S. and M.S. in manufacturing engineering. 

“Around my junior year I realized I would have the rest of my life to work, and that I was enjoying what I was doing at Stout between school, sports and being a lab tech,” said Dick, a native of Whitehall. He was among 1,174 graduates who took part in the spring commencement ceremonies on May 10 at UW-Stout’s Johnson Fieldhouse.  

After graduation, Dick won’t be going anywhere: He will become a full-time lecturer at UW-Stout. During his time as a lab technician, he discovered that he had a knack for explaining lab concepts to fellow students.  

He found similar peer support as both an indoor and outdoor track and field competitor, where his achievements included being named a U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Second-Team All-American in the decathlon last year. “It didn’t matter if it was a home conference meet or a nationals meet in the middle of Ohio, there would always be a group of Stout track athletes to cheer on those competing,” he said. 

What brought you to UW-Stout? 

The outstanding laboratory facilities were a major factor in my decision to attend Stout for my undergraduate education. While working as a manufacturing engineering youth apprentice in high school, I quickly learned that effective design requires a fundamental understanding of how a product will be built. The best way to gain that understanding is through hands-on experience.   

As a polytechnic university, Stout embraces this philosophy, emphasizing not only the theoretical aspects of engineering but also the practical application of sound engineering principles. The availability of dual-credit options made continuing into the manufacturing engineering M.S. program an affordable and logical choice, allowing me to further strengthen both my academic and practical skills.   
 

How has your UW-Stout experience changed you? 

When I first arrived at Stout, my intention was simply to complete my four years, earn my degree, and move on. However, by my junior year, I began to realize that I would have the rest of my life to work, and that I was genuinely enjoying my time at Stout whether through academics, athletics, or my role as a laboratory technician. With an additional year of track eligibility due to COVID-19 and the opportunity to pursue an accelerated master’s degree in manufacturing engineering, I decided to remain for a fifth year to earn my graduate degree.  

During this period, I discovered a passion for helping fellow students in the lab and received encouraging feedback about my ability to explain complex control systems in accessible ways. This experience inspired me to consider a career path I had never previously imagined: becoming a lecturer. Ironically, although I had been voted “Most Likely to Become a College Professor” in eighth grade, it was only through my time at Stout that I recognized how much I would enjoy and value such a role.  
 
How well has UW-Stout prepared you to work in your field and why? Did you have a favorite lab or internship experience?  

My favorite lab had to be the glass-making lab in Chemistry of Materials. It was fun seeing how sand gets processed into glass, and how the pigments used in glass aren’t what would be expected. Like how iron makes green glass.  Dr. Matthew Ray also always made the long lectures fun with his nerdy science humor.   

As for my internship, I started working at Ashley Furniture as a youth apprentice during my senior year of high school, and I continued to work there every summer and winter break throughout college.  
 

What stands out about your UW-Stout experience? 

The biggest thing that stood out to me while being at Stout is how much the professors care about the students learning the material. As long as you’re putting in effort in the class, they will take the time to make sure that you don’t just get the right answer but that you understand why it’s the right answer. They genuinely want to share the years of knowledge they have with every student who comes through. One of the most impactful aspects of my experience at Stout has been the genuine dedication of the professors to their students’ learning.  

How did your involvement on campus impact your experience? 

I competed in track and field throughout all five years of my time at Stout as a multi-event athlete, participating in the heptathlon during the indoor season and the decathlon during the outdoor season. Being part of the team was an invaluable experience. Surrounded by teammates who were constantly jumping farther, throwing farther, and running faster, I was consistently motivated to push myself to improve. The coaches and my teammates helped transform me from an uncoordinated freshman who could scarcely clear a hurdle into a national qualifier in the decathlon. This spirit of friendly competition extended beyond athletics and into academics, where we challenged one another to excel in the classroom as well.  

What are you most proud of as you finish your degree?  

I am proud of the personal and academic growth I have experienced during my time at Stout. The challenges I faced and the relationships I built pushed me to develop not only as a student and athlete but also as a person. In my first semester, I had a 3.3 GPA and was 800 points shy of qualifying for nationals in the decathlon. Through perseverance and a commitment to continuous improvement, I now maintain a 4.0 GPA in graduate school and qualified for nationals in the decathlon, where I achieved a respectable mid-field finish. However, the most meaningful growth has come from the values I have cultivated and the way I approach relationships and personal integrity. As the Montgomery Gentry song goes, "That’s something to be proud of."