Kieran Allen has always been a motivated young man, be it volunteering at his high school to assist incoming freshman, playing travel lacrosse for years, achieving in the classroom throughout college or managing impressive six figure contributions to Penn State’s student-run charity.
Connecticut-born Allen grew up in Hopewell Junction, NY, a community located about 70 miles north of Manhattan in a part of the state known for its beautiful and rugged landscape. He is the son of Shelby Burnett and Kari Allen, and he has two brothers and two sisters. At John Jay High School he was on the varsity lacrosse team as well as the varsity track and field team. Allen placed 6th in New York in the 4X400 and qualified for the New Balance Nationals. He was active in volunteering both in school and the community and graduated high school with a 3.5 GPA.
The drive for academic success, athletics and volunteering continued at Penn State during Allen’s time with Beta Alpha Chapter. Majoring in telecommunications, Allen was active across campus as a sales executive in the student run radio station and the Telecommunications Club. He also served as a PIKE rush captain and took on multi-year leadership roles on behalf of PIKE in THON, the official student managed philanthropy. Working with Kappa Alpha Theta, PIKE participated in several THON events raising with Theta $207,000 in 2023 and $259,000 in 2024. (Yes you read that correctly, PIKE and Theta partner to raise $200,000-plus annually for the prestigious student philanthropy which itself raised $16.9 million in 2024 for pediatric cancer research).
Penn State’s THON, officially known as the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world. It is a year-long effort that culminates in a 46-hour no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon to raise funds and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer. The funds raised benefit Four Diamonds, an organization that supports pediatric cancer patients and their families at Penn State Children’s Hospital. Allen proudly says, “THON involves thousands of students across various committees, Greek organizations, and clubs, all working together to support this incredible cause.”
Penn State Engineering Professor Gregory Woodman remembers Allen as a standout student in his classes. “Kieran was an excellent student in Engineering 310, a class in entrepreneurial leadership. He was a leader in our two case studies and always a great contributor to class discussions. His Greek affiliation was a factor in his advanced understanding of leadership discussions as he would apply class lessons on servant leadership in the real-world application of being a leader at his fraternity and share the positive results with me and the class.”
Allen says being a member of the Fraternity was both rewarding and a growing experience for him. “PIKE has allowed me to grow and develop into a man. Being surrounded by fellow brothers who strive to be the best men they can has profoundly changed my life.” His favorite memories include the hard work many Pikes put into THON and he has enjoyed competing in the yearly PIKE golf tournament held among the brothers of the Beta Alpha chapter.
Allen is excited to begin his career later this summer in New York City as a sales development representative with TEKsystems, an IT business and consulting firm.
