Fathers inspire couple’s volunteerism and philanthropy at Penn State Beaver

MONACA, Pa. — Penn State alumna Kate Becker and her husband, Graham Becker, of Wilmington, Delaware, have made giving back — and giving back to Penn State — a family tradition.

For Kate, the importance of being an active member of the community was a lesson she learned at an early age from her father, John Hertneky, a 1979 chemical engineering graduate of Penn State Beaver. Hertneky is a member of the Penn State Beaver Alumni Advisory Board, the co-chair of the Penn State Beaver Campaign Committee, and the vice president of the Beaver Valley chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, and he has received multiple campus awards for his service and leadership. His values and passion for Penn State were both passed on to his daughter.

Kate earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Penn State in 2005. Now, she has accepted the role of co-chair of the Penn State Beaver Campaign Committee — a position she shares with her father. In this role, they will work together with their fellow volunteers to raise philanthropic support for the campus as part of the University’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, now in its quiet phase.

“My dad would often keep me in the loop with all of his volunteer work with Penn State Beaver and share what he was working on,” Kate said. “I’m passionate about being a voice for and celebrating donors of all gift levels so that everyone feels like they can make a difference. Since I've felt included in the group already in an 'unofficial' capacity, I realized that it was the right time for me to officially get involved.”

Kate and her husband, Graham, continued to take inspiration from their families to expand their support of Penn State Beaver through philanthropy. They have now made an estate commitment to establish the Allen J. Becker Scholarship for Penn State Beaver, named in honor of Graham’s father and designed to support students at the campus with demonstrated financial need and who have a military connection, including those who are veterans, active-duty military, reservists or members of the National Guard.

“The Beckers have demonstrated that there are many ways to be a part of the Penn State Beaver community and support the University,” said Carey McDougall, chancellor of Penn State Beaver. “I am so grateful for their commitment to supporting Penn State Beaver students — by volunteering, and by leading the charge by creating a scholarship themselves.”

Twenty years after completing her degree, Kate felt determined to help make an education possible for future generations of Penn State students.

“I always try to acknowledge the privileges we’ve had in being able to get a college education. It was important to me to make sure that we aren’t closing the door behind us, and so we created the scholarship to provide a similar opportunity for a student in the future,” she said.

The couple’s decision to support student veterans in particular was inspired by Graham’s father, Allen “Sarge” Becker, a retired marine and Vietnam War veteran, who died suddenly from a heart attack in 2025.

It was at Allen’s urging that Graham pursued a higher education — instead of joining the military after high school like his father and grandfather before him, Graham attended the University of Delaware. He completed a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2007 and now owns his own technology support company, G Wiz IT Solutions.

After Allen’s passing, the answer of how the Beckers wanted to make their impact on future Penn State Beaver students became clear.

“My dad would be tickled pink to know that there will be a scholarship named after him,” Graham said. “He always believed in karma, and he used to say, ‘The world is what you put into it.’ This gift is our way to honor both his service and the values he lived by.”

Donors like the Beckers 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.