Today, Kim Ajy, ENG ’95, is widely recognized as a leading voice in water resources engineering. With a career spanning three decades in both the public and private sector, her impact as a mentor, influencer, and subject matter expert is evident. But according to Ajy, all of this is the result of an important inflection point in her professional journey.

“Temple is where I became a grown-up in my career—it’s where I set my own path to follow the areas that interested me most,” recalls Ajy, who established the Mary Bell Scholarship in 2025. “I felt like I got an education that really prepared me for the various stages of my career and gave me a deeper understanding of the importance of what we do and its impact on public health.”

Pursuing a post-graduate degree wasn’t part of Ajy’s original plan. After earning her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Rutgers University, she began her career in the laboratory before transitioning into wastewater treatment.

Motivated by her passion for STEM and a growing interest in industrial processes, Ajy enrolled in Temple’s College of Education and Human Development as a non-matriculated student while balancing the demands of a full-time job.

Soon, she discovered that Temple was designed for students like her—those pursuing their professional passions while already contributing to the workforce. Ajy fully matriculated and went on to earn her master’s degree in environmental health in 1995.

“I felt at home at Temple, and I was learning so much more than just water, which had been my focus at many industrial job sites,” she says. “It was a holistic approach to education—everything from statistics to toxicology and analytical chemistry—and not just in an industrial context, but now from the utility side as well.”

After graduation, Ajy joined a private water company before relocating to Atlanta, where she worked as a water resource specialist at a regional Georgia firm, Jordan, Jones & Goulding. In 2005, she launched River to Tap, Inc.

Today, while Ajy and her husband, George, and son, Samir, remain in Atlanta, R2T’s operations span three states—including an office in Philadelphia that brings Ajy back to her Temple roots.

In fact, she has proudly welcomed a new generation of Temple Owls—and aspiring engineers—as interns at R2T. In addition to mentoring the next wave of leaders, in 2025 she established the Mary Bell Scholarship, in memory of her mother, within Temple’s College of Engineering.

“I didn’t come from a family with advanced degrees or the money to make that a possibility for me,” Ajy recalls. “Earning my master’s degree from Temple Engineering, likely changed the trajectory of my life. If I can support someone else in reaching their goal, it may have a generational impact.”

Reflecting on her own journey, Ajy understands how vital scholarship support can be. For many students, it provides the freedom to focus on what matters most: completing their degree. Without the financial strain of tuition, she says, these future difference makers can devote their energy to creating a more sustainable world.

“Today’s students are so advanced—they’re motivated and passionate. I’ve seen it firsthand,” she says. “They want to make a difference and solve problems on a global scale. And if this scholarship helps to make that vision a reality for a student—then mission accomplished.”