Professional Development Elevates Trajectory for Subcontractor
Date Posted: December 21, 2021
Posted In: Discussion, Workforce,
From Burns & McDonnell: Vernal Stewart is an affable man who has built a life defined by relentless entrepreneurship and unyielding optimism. In 1986, he started his career by founding Engineering Polymers Co. While his youth and inexperience created some barriers, Stewart’s hustle and humility ultimately resulted in professional success. Today, Stewart serves as the president of SE3, a professional services company specializing in civil engineering.
In the summer of 2017, Stewart departed for a weeklong training in Hanover, New Hampshire. Through a scholarship provided by Burns & McDonnell, Stewart attended an executive education program at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. The program focused on helping small businesses owned and managed by individuals from groups classified as socially and economically disadvantaged. The coursework was rigorous, and attendees were expected to create growth strategies for their businesses. During the next four years, Stewart’s strategies would pay off — as SE3 already has doubled in size and continues on a growth trajectory.
Risk and Hope for a Brighter Future
The ambition and determination driving Stewart today grew out of invaluable lessons in grit and determination learned during childhood. The son of an immigrant, Stewart demonstrates humility and admiration when he discusses his father: “I always struggle with my story, because it pales in comparison to my father’s story.”
During World War II, Stewart’s father joined the U.S. Army. His father boarded a boat in Jamaica during a time when Black people were not allowed above the third deck and segregation was still legal. Despite these circumstances, his father was proud to play his part helping the U.S. and the Allied powers defeat the Axis powers. After serving in the Army, Stewart’s father had the opportunity to become a U.S. citizen.
Stewart’s optimism was a gift from his father, but his love for construction, engineering and building is attributable to his uncle and cousins, who founded the family’s original business, Masonry Builders Inc. As a teenager living in Kansas City, Missouri, in the 1970s, Stewart watched his family build the roads they drove on, which influenced him to follow a similar career path.