Marlene Burgos-Stewart’s path to becoming the new nursing administrative chair started when she was a nursing student at Blackhawk. 

“The education and degree that I earned at Blackhawk Technical College changed the trajectory of my family’s lives in the most positive way, and I know it can do the same for all of our students,” she said.

Growing up in Evanston, Illinois, Marlene’s parents moved to southern Wisconsin when she was a sophomore in high school. She graduated from Black Hawk High School and married later that same year. 

Marlene has always loved caring for people, starting out as a caregiver but finding herself wanting to be more involved in her clients’ plan of care. It was then she decided to enroll in nursing school. After graduating from Blackhawk, Marlene earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Viterbo University and a Master of Science in Nursing from Edgewood College.

While working as a nurse, Marlene realized she loved training and developing her staff. 

“After working in the field and moving into management, I found great satisfaction in working to develop policies and practices that had a positive impact on the quality of care that our patients were receiving,” she said.

Marlene, who started teaching at Blackhawk three years ago, sees the college always striving to strengthen the support it gives to students.

“Blackhawk Tech’s faculty and staff value each and every student,” she said. “This college is on a quest for constant improvement for the advantage of the student’s experience and the learning environment they will work in.”

Marlene and her husband, Rodney, live on a hobby farm in southern Wisconsin with their eight “ankle biters,” a mixture of Chihuahuas and Papillons. They have three adult children and one grandson and are excited to welcome their second grandchild in October. They love to travel and spend time in the Northwoods at Burrows Lake.