From stay-at-home mom to director of preconstruction

Purdue’s online master’s program in construction management helped Carlyn McClelland make a career pivot that inspired her to think about the industry in new ways. (Photo courtesy of Bailey Wolfe)
Purdue construction management alum hopes to give other unlikely construction professionals a seat at the table
Carlyn McClelland knows that success does not follow a predictable path. After all, her own career journey has had more than its fair share of twists and turns.
From going to trade school as a stay-at-home mom to pivoting her construction career and earning her master’s degree in construction management online after a life-altering injury, McClelland’s unlikely journey has made her a voice for change within the construction industry.
Now she wants to build a more inclusive future for construction professionals — one brick at a time. And she is using what she learned in Purdue University’s online Master of Science in construction management program to help her do it.
“Purdue’s program changed my perspective on what construction can be,” says McClelland, director of preconstruction for Final Phase Electric in Elkhart, Indiana. “The traditional way is not always the best way.”
McClelland knows a thing or two about bucking tradition — her journey to becoming a construction professional was anything but traditional. It started with earning a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. She did well in college and enjoyed her studies, as well as her postgraduation career as a probation officer. But, looking back, she can see how social expectations shaped her college experience.
“I went to college because that’s what was expected of me,” McClelland says. “I didn’t know much about (trade school and other options) at the time.”
A few years after graduation, McClelland decided to leave her career as a probation officer to focus on being a mom. During this time, McClelland experienced a lot of change — she had a stillbirth and then she lost 150 pounds. Her journey with grief inspired her to focus on her health, and through those efforts, she developed new interests.
One was home remodeling.
“Starting off, I got into home remodeling because I wanted to teach my sons some useful skills, and I wanted to help other moms fix their houses,” McClelland says. “But then I fell in love with the entire construction industry. My hobby got out of control.”
So, at 36 years old, McClelland enrolled in a trade school to learn more about construction. This hands-on educational experience taught her the value of pursuing a trade, and her unlikely journey from stay-at-home mom to construction worker attracted national attention.

Purdue found me at the perfect moment in my life. I made the choice to throw my heart and soul into the program so I could make the best out of a not-ideal situation.
Carlyn McClelland
MS construction management ’23
Director of preconstruction for Final Phase Electric
In 2017 she applied for and won a mikeroweWORKS Foundation Work Ethic Scholarship, which helps students fund their trade school educations. Winning the scholarship and meeting Mike Rowe, the “Dirty Jobs” star who has long championed the importance of trades, helped her inspire other women to follow her lead. She even appeared on “Good Morning America,” where she spoke about the importance of female representation in the trades.
“In the media, I became a spokesperson for why trade school is a great option,” McClelland says. “Those media experiences are what prompted me to start thinking about opening my own business.”
The money from the mikeroweWORKS Foundation scholarship paid for McClelland’s last year of trade school. She earned an Associate in Applied Science in construction trades and green technology in 2018 and then began building a residential construction business: Proverbs 31 Construction.
The business was a huge success — she was doing hands-on work every day and taking on projects big and small. But then, suddenly, things changed. While doing routine work, she had a ladder accident that resulted in a catastrophic injury to her right ankle. She realized almost immediately that her future — and the future of her business — was irreparably changed.
“After the accident, I realized that I couldn’t do the hands-on work I set out to do, and I couldn’t continue running my business,” McClelland says.
“It was really hard,” she continues. “But then I picked myself back up and decided to change direction.”
Turning a corner
One of McClelland’s construction mentors encouraged her to consider construction management, where instead of doing hands-on work, she would control a project’s scope, time and cost to produce the best quality outcome. She became interested in pursuing this career path and soon found Purdue’s online Master of Science in construction management program, which seemed like the perfect jumping-off point for a career pivot.
“Purdue found me at the perfect moment in my life,” McClelland says. “I made the choice to throw my heart and soul into the program so I could make the best out of a not-ideal situation.”
At Purdue, McClelland took classes from professors with extensive industry experience and who loved the field. They challenged her to think about construction in new ways and to build additional skills, like commercial construction management, risk management, value engineering and operations science. They also emphasized the importance of collaboration.
During her time in the industry, McClelland experienced how adversarial the construction field can be. But in working with her professors, she came to understand that collaboration, not competition, is the key to sustained success.
“What I learned about incentivizing collaboration through contractual arrangements and the project’s delivery method solidified my belief that bringing everyone on the project together is the key to improving productivity,” McClelland says. “From owners to field staff to project managers and administration, everyone has a role to play.”


McClelland also enjoyed the program’s project-based curriculum. Each course was based around a hands-on project, which she usually completed with a group of other construction professionals. These projects helped McClelland put the principles she was learning into action — like the class she took on value engineering, which helps managers prioritize what owners want out of a project while maximizing value.
Her group projects also helped her form lasting relationships with her classmates — many of whom are still part of her life today.
“I still have a text thread going with a lot of my classmates, and we help each other navigate the construction industry,” McClelland says. “If I have questions, I can reach out to my classmates or professors and have that support network.”
Over the course of her studies, McClelland developed a passion for lean construction, a movement in the industry that focuses on maximizing value and minimizing waste by encouraging collaboration and continuous improvement. Among construction’s old guard, lean construction is still considered a nontraditional method, but, at Purdue, McClelland was always encouraged to think outside of the box.
That lesson stuck with her, and it’s become a central part of her new career as the director of preconstruction and acting project manager for Final Phase Electric.
“I believe strongly in the tenets of the lean construction movement,” McClelland says. “One of the core tenets of that movement is respect for people. In my career, I’ve learned that there’s no real separation among different kinds of construction professionals, whether you’re a manager, out in the field, or working in the office. No matter your identity, no matter your background, no matter if you don’t think you fit in — we all have a place at this table.”
In the future, McClelland would like to continue creating space for a new generation of construction professionals. She hopes her story can encourage other women to pursue construction jobs, and she’d love to influence the future of the field through teaching and consulting.
From her perspective, change is good. It’s something the industry should embrace, just as she has.
“Purdue’s program taught me to never settle for good enough,” McClelland says. “And I believe that. It carries through in my faith and my work.”
Learn more about Purdue’s online Master of Science in construction management on the program’s website.
By RM Barton, barton53@purdue.edu