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President and Owner | Powers Engineering Inc.
As a child, Cherylynn Schilling was drawn to water and to building things. When she discovered civil engineering at age 10 by watching “Extreme Engineering” on the Discovery Channel, she knew what her career would be. “Clean water is essential and by specializing in water resources, I can be a part of protecting this precious resource.” As president and owner of Powers Engineering, Schilling handles the day-to-day business operations, business development, project management and mentoring other engineers. In 2023, she fulfilled a longtime goal of establishing a scholarship to support students pursuing a career in the engineering and construction trades. The LOIS Scholarship, named in her grandmother’s memory, aids students from underrepresented communities attending Ivy Tech Community College in Indianapolis.
Getting here: Schilling knew she wanted to lead her own company, but “I wasn’t yet seeing owners and executives that looked like me.” After about eight years working for other firms (“Whenever I felt I’d reached a ceiling, I made a move.”), she joined Powers Engineering as a project manager in 2016. When the opportunity arose to purchase the company, she jumped at it.
First job: “If make-believe jobs count, then ‘entrepreneur.’ As a kid, I ran multiple pretend businesses (grocery store manager, newspaper editor, retail store owner), and fortunately, my little sister went along with it.”
Proud moment: “When I took over as president, one of my top goals was to open a third location. I’m proud to say that last year, we opened our newest office in downtown Louisville.”
Givebacks: Volunteer, Indy Reads. “One of the causes most important to me is economic empowerment, and Indy Reads’ mission to provide literacy and job-readiness skills, all at NO cost to its adult learners, aligns perfectly with how I want to give back to our community.”
Advice: “Be authentic, trust your instincts, and don’t be afraid to do things differently.”•
Check out more Forty Under 40 honorees.
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