Livingston County students awarded Saunders College endowed scholarships to attend RIT

Kiersten Kennedy, a senior at Dansville High School, and Ella Sexton, a senior at Livonia High School, are recipients of this year’s annual E. Philip Saunders Endowed Business Scholarship at Rochester Institute of Technology. The students have been accepted at RIT’s Saunders College of Business, where they will begin classes in the fall.

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Ella Sexton, a senior at Livonia High School, is a recipient of this year’s E. Philip Saunders Endowed Business Scholarship.

The recipients will receive scholarships valued at up to $160,000 over the course of four years. The award was established in 2006 by E. Philip Saunders to provide four-year scholarships annually to graduates of designated Livingston County high schools who are enrolled in Saunders College of Business. Since then, he has donated more than $2 million to Livingston County high school students. 

Candidates must demonstrate a record of academic achievement that indicates a strong potential for success in a selective educational environment. They must also be well-rounded students involved in extracurricular or work-related activities while in high school and demonstrate strong leadership potential or business skills. Kennedy and Sexton will join 31 Saunders scholars who previously received the award.

“We are very grateful for the generous support of Mr. Saunders and his personal vision to help support business education for outstanding students in our area,” said Dean Jacqueline Mozrall. “Through his scholarship, many extraordinary students have been given the opportunity to graduate from RIT’s Saunders College of Business and make an impact in the Rochester region and beyond.”

A serial entrepreneur and owner of Saunders Management Co., Saunders is a notable philanthropist and benefactor to the RIT college that bears his name. A lifelong resident of Livingston County, he graduated from Livonia High School himself, while his children graduated from Dansville High School. He has said that these scholarships are his way of giving back to the community.

To learn more about E. Philip Saunders, the scholarship, and to see past recipients who have benefited from his generosity, visit the Saunders College of Business website.

This gift is part of Transforming RIT: The Campaign for Greatness, a $1 billion university fundraising effort, the largest in university history. This blended campaign seeks support from a variety of investors, including alumni and friends, government and corporate partners, and research foundations and agencies. The campaign has raised $801 million to date.