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Youssef Mahfouz

Project Engineer

Start Date: 2023

At age 23, Youssef Mahfouz is RLTurner’s youngest office employee. His career experience and his dedication to getting jobs done, however, continues to impress everyone who works with him and belies his age and recent graduation date.

When he graduated from Ball State University in 2023, he landed his first job with Indiana’s largest construction company. “At the time, I thought it was an accomplishment to get a job offer from such a large company, so I accepted,” Youssef says.

It didn’t take him long, though, before he realized he wasn’t thriving in a large corporate setting with sharply defined departments and reporting lines.

His job search led him to RLTurner, which employs many Ball State alumni, is a platinum sponsor of Ball State’s construction management program, and participates regularly in campus career days. One of Youssef’s classmates already worked at RLTurner, so it was easy to make contact and learn more about a corporation that has fewer than 100 employees.

Since RLTurner’s founding, the company skews more toward family than corporate culture. And being a smaller company, the early conversations began with Adam Owens, President/CEO, and later included others on the project management team. After much deliberation, Youssef decided to make the move to RLTurner.

“On paper, it looks like a lateral move,” Youssef says. “But what I’m doing now is a huge jump in experience and responsibility.” At his previous position as project engineer, his primary duties involved pushing plenty of paperwork, from RFIs to submittals, and many layers separated him from corporate leadership. At RLTurner, however, he’s essentially an assistant project manager, with daily access to Adam. “We’re running meetings and coordinating projects with owners and subcontractors; basically, it’s the same title, but there’s many more opportunities to take on more responsibilities.”

Currently, Youssef is part of a team overseeing renovations at Carmel’s Monon Community Center. On the day of a recent meeting, his fellow team members were pulled into other projects. “The rest of the team was busy, so I led the progress meeting with the owners,” Youssef says. “I like to jump into anything where I can learn something new and add to my skillset.”

Nearly 70 percent of RLTurner’s project management team comprises recent college graduates. Striking a balance between veteran mentors always willing to help with eager, energetic, and talented younger staff, RLTurner and its future—as well as the opportunities for individual career satisfaction—look bright.