UPPER BURRELL, Pa. – Former Penn State New Kensington student Ray Mastre was honored with the Penn State Alumni Association's Alumni Achievement Award March 27 during a celebration at University Park.
The award recognizes Penn State alumni, 35 years of age and younger, for their extraordinary professional accomplishments. Mastre and 11 other prominent graduates were recognized at a dinner at the Penn Stater. Penn State President Eric Barron presented Mastre with a commemorative medal designed by internationally recognized artist and 2007 Alumni Fellow Jeanne Stevens-Sollman.
Nominated for the award by Kevin Snider, chancellor of the New Kensington campus, Mastre was invited by President Barron to return to campus to share his expertise with students and the Penn State community. Alumni Achievement honorees demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni succeed in exceptional fashion at an early age.
“Ray is driven by the appreciation of the opportunities provided to him,” Snider said. “With each growing accomplishment, he becomes committed to making sure that he can provide similar opportunities for future Penn Staters.”
As a part of the two-day event, Mastre met and talked with information sciences and technology students on the night before the event at the Hintz Family Alumni Center. In addition, he participated in a panel discussion, “Our Stories: the Secret to our Success,” with fellow award recipients.
During his acceptance remarks, Mastre extolled the benefits of attending Penn State New Kensington, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in information sciences and technology. He noted that the quality of education and faculty at New Kensington, one of Penn State’s 19 Commonwealth campuses, was equal to the quality at the University Park campus. All graduates earn a Penn State degree, regardless of the campus they attended.
In addition to his family, guests of Mastre at the ceremony included faculty and administrators from the New Kensington campus: Larry Pollock, retired chancellor of the campus; Gary Heberling; instructor of information sciences and technology and coordinator of the IST program; Hal Smith, associate professor of information sciences and technology and assistant director of academic affairs; Theresa Bonk, director of student affairs; and Snider.
“The Achievement Award honor enhances Ray’s ability to further the goals of the campus by leading our alumni and community in helping to achieve the successful implementation of our strategic plan, which complements President Barron’s six imperatives and Provost Jones’ five principles,” Snider said. “He is a consummate ambassador for the campus, and the award status will provide him opportunities to convince other alumni to get involved in strengthening educational experiences, expanding student opportunities, partnering with local communities, keeping accessibility to higher education, engaging students, and embracing diversity.”Professional Career
Professional AchievementsMastre is a director of SAP security consulting at PwC. He joined the company’s New York office July 2004 after earning his degree. He later accepted a position to lead PwC’s European SAP Security business in Zurich, Switzerland. Returning to the New York office in 2011, he rose through the PwC ranks to his current role as a director.
Specializing in assisting companies running the SAP software package, Mastre designs security systems that reduce internal employee theft. The Plum Borough, Pennsylvania, native has completed several global security projects at Fortune 500 companies and is known as a leading expert in his field, frequently speaking at industry conferences and authoring white papers. He holds various certifications, including Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC).
Campus ConnectionsMastre’s contributions to the New Kensington campus began when he served two years as Student Government Association (SGA) president, championing a $10,000 fundraising campaign to build a Nittany Lion shrine on campus. Another of his fundraising endeavors was the campus’ Student Leadership Development Fund, which builds future leaders, supports guest speakers and funds travel to student leadership programs.
In 2007, he joined the campus Advisory Board and led the efforts to construct a fountain to honor the legacy of Pollock, who served as director of student affairs before assuming the chancellorship. Mastre was elected board president in 2013. As the youngest president and the first campus graduate to fill the position, he is focused on transforming the board’s committee structure to ensure it meets the needs of the campus. Prior to a seat on the advisory board, Mastre was a director on the board of the Alle-Kiski Society, the local alumni organization that is based at the New Kensington campus.
Last year, he established a scholarship for information sciences and technology students at New Kensington. The impetus behind the endowment, “Raymond Mastre Professional Advancement Trustee Scholarship,” was Mastre’s sense of “paying it forward.” He was a first-generation student whose family was unable to fund his college education. While caddying during the summer at Oakmont Country Club, he applied for a scholarship from the Druckenmiller Foundation, a private nonprofit organization, which supports medical research, education, and poverty-fighting initiatives. He earned the first of four annual scholarships in fall 2000. Over the course of his bachelor’s degree studies, he was awarded nearly $40,000 in scholarship money from the foundation, which enabled him to graduate with no debt.
Mastre returns to the campus regularly to recruit and mentor students, as well as to educate and engage students through guest lecturing and mock interviewing.
“He will continue to share his experiences with students, the local community, and businesses in both the private and public sectors,” Snider said. “He exemplifies what it means to be an involved alumnus.”