Hard work and discipline keys to success for recipient of Judges’ Bronze Medal

When Brandon Blenkarn, ‘23 JD, entered law school, he started the journey with a number of diverse experiences already behind him and a determination to work hard as he tackled the new challenges that lay ahead.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Blenkarn completed an undergraduate degree from Mount Saint Vincent University and a master’s degree from Dalhousie University. During his undergraduate degree and for several years after, he also served in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Most recently, Blenkarn was a full-time CrossFit and Olympic Weightlifting coach in Saskatoon. But he turned the page on this experience to move to Edmonton and start a new chapter at the University of Alberta Faculty of Law.

“I believe that law school offers a blank slate for anyone coming in,” he says. “I wasn’t the highest ranking academically on the way in, but I just worked hard and made no excuses to try to do the best I could.”

Blenkarn found great success following this approach. As he convocates this month, he is being recognized with the Judges’ Bronze Medal – an honour reserved for the student who stands third throughout their studies in the JD program.

Blenkarn credits the people he met along the way as being crucial to the positive experience he had in law school. “I was very fortunate to meet a great upper year mentor in Zach Wilson (‘21 JD) early on who helped guide me through many facets of law school,” he says.

He also points to the influence of Professor Steven Penney, from whom he took several criminal law courses over the course of his degree.

“I’ve spent a lot of time in university (too long) and he is by far the best instructor I’ve ever had,” Blenkarn says. “His classes were a lot of work, but it was all well worth it for the level of knowledge you come away with.”

Aside from the impact of the people he encountered, Blenkarn views the clinics and internships he took part in as the biggest highlights of his time at the U of A.

“My favourite experience was completing an internship with the Assistant Judge Advocate General’s Office at Canadian Forces Base Edmonton,” he says, noting that he was also fortunate to complete internships with the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Alberta Court of Appeal.

While Blenkarn embraced the law school experience and took part in many activities on campus, he also made an effort to find balance and preserve his outside interests.

“I am most proud of being an assistant instructor for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at Bairro BJJ,” he says. “Throughout my third year I was fortunate to teach 6 a.m. classes. It served as a great stress relief and helped make sure my life was not 100% law school.”

As Blenkarn prepares for the next step on his journey – articling in criminal defense under Dino Bottos, KC, at Bottos Law Group – he doesn’t intend to rest on his laurels. Instead, he approaches articling the same way he approached law school: as a blank slate.

“Going into articling, it doesn’t matter what happened in law school,” he says. “You just need to have discipline and work hard to achieve your goals.”