Personable and Accomplished NJIT Alum Endows Scholarships to Bring Women into STEM

The legacy of Kelly O’Connor, who was an active alumna of New Jersey Institute of Technology for 30 years, endures with two new scholarships that will serve female students who are interested in STEM.

The Kelly A. O’Connor Pre-College Scholarship will cover the cost of summer programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for students in elementary, middle and high school who need financial help. It will be awarded annually to at least three girls.

The Kelly A. O’Connor Opportunity Scholarship will help first-year undergraduates who previously participated in pre-college programs, have financial need, earned at least a 3.0 GPA in high school and are pursuing STEM degrees. It will be awarded annually to one woman.

The first recipients of the scholarships — which O’Connor endowed through a $118,000 gift in her will — will be selected next year.

Engineering leader

O’Connor, who died of cancer this year at the age of 52, earned three degrees from NJIT — a bachelor’s in civil engineering in 1994, a master’s in environmental engineering in 1996 and an MBA in 2003 — and became a leader in engineering, lastly as senior vice president for transformation at Jacobs Engineering Group. Before that, she was a regional director at CH2M, which Jacobs acquired in 2017.

“As a brilliant engineer, respected business leader and a dedicated three-time alumna of our university, Kelly touched the lives of countless people,” said Kenneth Alexo Jr., vice president for development and alumni relations. “Her philanthropic support will enable young women to follow in her footsteps and prepare themselves to serve as tomorrow’s engineers, scientists, technologists and leaders.”

As an alumna, O’Connor served on boards for NJIT’s Ying Wu College of Computing, the Foundation at NJIT and the university’s Center for Pre-College Programs, which introduces young students to STEM through more than a half-dozen programs.

Investing time

In her nine years on the center’s Advisory Board, she served as chair and vice chair and brought work colleagues to campus to judge student STEM contests, according to Jacqueline Cusack, executive director of the center. She also attended summer sessions to engage and encourage participants.

“Kelly believed in the transformative impact of a STEM education,” Cusack said. “She personified it as a civil engineer. But most importantly, she invested her time and money in helping to expose others to STEM, especially female students.”

As a board leader, O’Connor “knew and understood our programs, and asked questions that would inform how we engaged students,” Cusack added. “She wanted to know what we were doing and be involved in helping us deliver.”

Cusack further described O’Connor as a “do-er” who was smart and results-oriented. She also found her to be personable and easy to talk to. As such, Cusack considered her both a professional role model for students and staff and a friend.

“I was overwhelmed by the news of her passing, and then later, of course, deeply moved by the news of her intended gift,” Cusack said. The pre-college scholarship is the first for the center.

Outgoing and charismatic

O’Connor’s pursuit of engineering may have been sparked by her father, who worked for a contractor in project management on the NASA Space Shuttle program, according to Robert Nee, her husband.

“She was always very interested in how things work,” Nee said. “She liked to be the one creating buildings, doing things. I think that’s why engineering appealed to her.”

And while she experienced frustration at times in a generally male-dominated field, she was outgoing and charismatic, which enabled her to make friends easily and ultimately get things done. That ability to light up a room was also what first attracted Nee to O’Connor when they met in Hoboken, N.J. on a Friday night in 2003. As he put it, “She was very bubbly and friendly.”

Outside of work, O’Connor loved the outdoors, be it hiking, rock climbing, playing beach volleyball or simply enjoying the beauty and serenity of sunrises at the beach. In sum, she wanted to challenge herself and find peacefulness.

Five principles

And whether managing an engineering project or exploring Zion National Park, O’Connor followed a mantra of five principles that Nee shared when asked what future scholarship recipients should know about her.

Live free.
Fuel well-being.
Lead with positivity.
Be kind.
Stay curious.

So, in those five ways, this exceptional NJIT alum was a role model for us all.