\u201cWe want every potential Penn State Berks student to find their true passion,\u201d Penn State Berks Chancellor Radha Pyati said in the release. \u201cThis 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. I am so grateful to Melissa \u2014 her passion for education is truly remarkable and will make a profound difference in our efforts at Penn State Berks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels Foster worked as a chief engineer at ExxonMobil Chemical. In 2016, she became the first woman to serve in that role with the company.<\/p>\n
![\"Melissa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Melissa-Daniels-Foster.jpg\")
Melissa Daniels Foster, a Penn State Berks engineering alumna and former chief engineer at ExxonMobil Chemical, recently gifted $1.25 million to create a fund to support STEM initiatives at Penn State Berks. (Courtesy of Penn State Berks)<\/p>\n
She worked in that capacity for over 30 years before retiring in 2020. Her role involved developing technology to improve the corporation\u2019s sustainability, Penn State Berks said in the release.<\/p>\n
Daniels Foster said she credits her career success to a strong family support system and her own curiosity.<\/p>\n
At a young age, her parents encouraged her to be an explorer, expanding her skills and opportunities, and her grandmother taught her the value of choosing a career that could provide economic security, Penn State Berks said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a high school student, I wasn\u2019t sure what topic I wanted to study in college,\u201d Daniels Foster said. \u201cMy grandmother\u2019s advice was \u2018Figure out how to make a living.\u2019 A young woman at the time, I was inspired by her words to see my education as a way of becoming independent.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her path to that independence soon became clear, she said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
As an undergraduate, she served as the president of the Penn State chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to connect my interests with ways to solve challenging world problems,\u201d she said. \u201cToo often, students don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniels Foster retired in 2020. She now lives in Boise, Idaho, with her husband, William Foster III.<\/p>\n
She told Penn State Berks that she enjoys spending time with family, volunteering for the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights, and watercolor painting.<\/p>\n
Daniels Foster said she recently decided it was the right time to give back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I worked hard to create and take advantage of opportunities, but I always had a strong support system,\u201d she said. \u201cSo now, I want to help create a path for future generations of Penn Staters and be a part of their support system. Aristotle once said that \u2018educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.\u2019 This gift comes from my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n