RIT Scholarship Benefits Ontario County High School Students

Students from Red Jacket High School with interests in engineering, engineering technology or computing studies can benefit from a Rochester Institute of Technology scholarship program.

The Charles E. and Andrea Volpe Engineering Scholarship, valued at $90,000, provides full tuition for undergraduate studies at RIT.

This year’s recipient is Andrew Phillips, a 2004 graduate of Red Jacket High School, in the Manchester-Shortsville Central School District, and son of Betsy and David Phillips of Rice Road in Shortsville. He begins first-year engineering technology studies at RIT this fall. Charles Volpe will present the scholarship during Red Jacket High School graduation ceremonies at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 26, at 1506 Route 21 in Shortsville.

Volpe, a past resident of Manchester, graduated from Red Jacket High School in 1954 and from RIT with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1959.

"My RIT education helped me succeed in business," he says. "Andrea and I want to encourage other young students from the area to obtain an RIT engineering education."

Volpe is a director and the retired president and chief operating officer of KEMET Electronics Corp. in Simpsonville, S.C. He also was a longtime employee of Union Carbide Corp., former parent company of KEMET Electronics. He and his wife reside in Charleston, S.C.

The scholarship will be funded annually by the Volpes. Graduates of Victor High School and Canandaigua High School will receive second and third preference respectively for scholarships.