When Deanna Yancey walked across the stage during her May 3 graduation from Georgia Institute of Technology, a very special person presented her with her diploma—her grandfather, who was the first Black student to graduate from the school.
The heartwarming moment took place almost 60 years after Ronald Yancey made history in June 1965 as the only Black person among 300 graduates to earn an engineering degree. To now share this moment with her trailblazing grandfather is something Deanna Yancey said she will never forget. “It felt like all the hard work that I put in and that he’s put in came full circle. It was really a beautiful moment between us,” she shared with ESSENCE.
“Then seeing all the other Black graduates across the stage before and after me on Friday was truly amazing… he helped open the door for all of us, and it was just like wow,” said the new grad who earned her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering.
Deanna earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from Penn State University in 2020, and she says she didn’t tell her family she was applying to her grandfather’s alma mater for her master’s program until she was accepted.
“When I got in, I got to read the acceptance email to my grandfather,” Deanna Yancey. “He was so happy. He almost started jumping; he was so excited.”
Deanna also said she feels excitement each time she gets to share her grandfather’s incredible journey with others. His achievement was recognized on-campus with a sculpture of him dedicated in 2019, according to Georgia Tech. “I think every time I brought different groups of friends there to see the statue of him on campus, they always have many questions about what he went through, and some of his stories, and just more questions about him as a person,” she says.
“I feel honored to be able to be the one to share his story more to everybody and make sure that they know who he is.”
Ronald Yancey was rejected twice from the school also known as Georgia Tech, in the 1960s, and his family was told he “did not fit the Tech model for success,” according to a news release from the university.
He attended Morehouse College, but “Morehouse did not have an engineering program, though, so in the spring of 1961, Yancey reapplied.” According to Georgia Tech, he was accepted upon the condition that he retook the SAT and passed a summer class.
“Once on campus, (Ronald) Yancey was cautioned against using public transportation or attending any athletic events for his own safety,” the news release said. “He endured isolation; no one would sit near him in the classroom. He never had a lab partner. He did all of his papers and exams in ink so he could not be accused of cheating or have his work tampered with.”
Additionally, he was required to complete graduation requirements not asked of other seniors, who were exempt from final exams. He spent his last three weeks at Georgia Tech taking 18 exams across five classes.
“To ensure that he made the grade, he requested and was given an additional six-hour exam for extra credit. He also had to write a 30-page paper on transistor theory,” the release stated.
Ronald Yancey defied the odds and earned his electrical engineering degree from Georgia Tech 59 years before his granddaughter would achieve a similar feat.
Now as graduates of the same school, Deanna said that knowing that grandfather is proud of her means the world/ “He said, “I’m so proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. You’re truly amazing, you’ve really outdone yourself now.” adding that “there were tears in his eyes and tears in my eyes, our whole standing there was tearing up, it was really special.”
Deanna Yancey says the best advice her grandfather gave her “is not to take no for an answer and to keep fighting for what you want and what you deserve.”
