A $1.25 million estate commitment from Penn State Berks and College of Engineering alumna Melissa Daniels Foster will create a new fund designed to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Her gift is the first seven-figure estate commitment to the campus from a Penn State Berks alumna.
The Foster Excellence in STEM Fund will offer support to Penn State Berks’ K-12 school district partnerships and outreach programming that will help young students discover new topics in STEM. The endowment will also provide funds for on-campus programming in support of future engineers and scientists from a wide array of backgrounds. This programming includes opportunities like Engineering Ahead, a four-week summer “bridge” program designed to enhance academic preparedness and increase retention rates among a diverse group of engineering students, as well as Futures in Engineering: Role Models Can Empower (FiERCE), a program that connects Penn State Berks engineering students with local middle and high school students interested in pursuing engineering degrees.
“We want every potential Penn State Berks student to find their true passion. This gift will provide us with the flexibility to offer generations of Penn Staters opportunities to engage with our community and attract more students to careers in STEM,” said Penn State Berks Chancellor Radha Pyati. “I am so grateful to Melissa — her passion for education is truly remarkable and will make a profound difference in our efforts at Penn State Berks.”
Daniels Foster said she credits her career success to a strong family support system and a curiosity for the world around her. At a young age, her parents encouraged her to be an explorer, expanding her skills and opportunities, and her grandmother instilled in her the value of selecting a career that could give herself and her family economic security.
“As a high school student, I wasn’t sure what topic I wanted to study in college,” Daniels Foster said. “My grandmother’s advice was ‘Figure out how to make a living!’ A young woman at the time, I was inspired by her words to see my education as a way of becoming independent.”
Her path to that independence soon became clear, she said. After shadowing a metallurgist in the Pennsylvania steel industry and receiving encouragement from a high school chemistry teacher, Daniels Foster decided that chemical engineering was her calling. She began her studies at Penn State Berks and earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Penn State in 1987. As an undergraduate, she served as the president of the Penn State chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
“I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to connect my interests with ways to solve challenging world problems,” she said. “Too often, students don’t encounter or explore all the professional paths open to them. This gift is my way of helping others to align their interests with meaningful, viable careers.”
The decision to become an engineer led Daniels Foster to a career at ExxonMobil Chemical. Over a tenure of more than 30 years, she rose through various roles before being named the first female chief engineer of the company in 2016. In this capacity, she was responsible for developing technology to improve the corporation’s sustainability.
Daniels Foster retired in 2020, and she now lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, William Foster III. She said she enjoys spending time with family, volunteering for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and watercolor painting. She recently decided, she said, that it was the right time to give back.
“Yes, I worked hard to create and take advantage of opportunities, but I always had a strong support system. So now, I want to help create a path for future generations of Penn Staters and be a part of their support system,” she said. “Aristotle once said that ‘educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.’ This gift comes from my heart.”
Gifts like the Foster Excellence in STEM Fund advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients and communities across the commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.
