Sophomore and JROTC platoon first sergeant Hayyah DeLane (center) holds a scholarship check for $1250 with several friends and visitors on May 2. While she will not be able to access the first thousand dollars until she goes to college, DeLane hopes to put the $250 she has now towards her small business. “I actually have my own customized clothing line where I just get clothes, jackets, pants, t-shirts — whatever — and customize it by putting my own little design on it by hand or stuff like that,” DeLane said. “I currently don’t have a website, but a lot of people contact me through Instagram. That’s where I do most of my promoting.” Photo by Luna Reichert
Clarke Central High School sophomore and JROTC platoon first sergeant Hayyah DeLane is awarded a $1250 scholarship by the National Association of Black Accountants.
On May 2, Clarke Central High School sophomore and JROTC platoon first sergeant Hayyah DeLane was awarded a $1250 scholarship by the National Association of Black Accountants (NABA) after talking to them at a lunch booth a couple of weeks ago.
“This one day at lunch. I just saw a booth right outside by the cafeteria. It was crazy because I was actually about to just keep walking, but something was just like, ‘Go talk. Just see what it’s about,’” DeLane said. “We had a very good conversation, and then my lunch was over, so I eventually wrapped things up. (Then, on Wednesday), I found out about (the scholarship awarded to me) and I was just like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ It was just a shock because I was expecting none of this.”
Terrence Thompson, who will be the president of UGA’s NABA chapter next year, believes that it was DeLane’s personality that first stood out to him.
“Last semester, in October, we had planned to do a program with Clarke Central. So we had our trifold board out there that said, ‘scholarships, college, other opportunities through internships,’” Thompson said. “Most people walked right on past, that’s no problem. (But) me, Hayah and another member had a very engaging conversation. Hayyah definitely proved to be intelligent in the little 10 to 15 minutes that we spoke to her.”
The original plan was not to award a student with a scholarship, however.
“When the program that we were planning on doing with Clarke Central didn’t pan out, we didn’t want to just do nothing for the school,” Thompson said.” So we decided that we should go back and honor the young woman who took 15 minutes out of her day to talk to us and honor her with this scholarship. And, partially in her name, we have started the UGA NABA Irons-Weber-DeLane Scholarship.”
After recognizing that DeLane was wearing her JROTC uniform that day, Thompson decided to contact Lieutenant Colonel William McMickle about honoring her at the JROTC building. McMickle quickly relayed this information to Hayyah’s mother, Jennine DeLane.
“This, of course, took us a little bit by surprise,” Jennine said. “Colonel (McMickle) called me about it. I’m glad to see that she’s learning the things that we try to teach. When you see other folks or are at conferences — talk. You have to open up to see what’s going on. So I’m glad that she’s taking in the notes, and I’m excited to see what we can continue to do between Clarke Central and the University of Georgia.”
Sergeant Raymond Bentley, a JROTC instructor, also believes that people should be more outgoing to explore potential opportunities.
“Don’t treat people like, ‘I don’t know who this guy is I ain’t gonna talk.’ When you meet people, speak to people like you’ve got some sense. You never know who they are, what they can do, who they know or how they can connect you for the next day,” Bentley said. “You see where I’m coming from? Don’t just blow somebody off like, ‘I don’t like the way they dress,’ or, ‘I don’t know that person.’ Who cares? Speak.”
With the aid of her scholarship, DeLane hopes to go to college and study one of several fields.
“I want to go to Howard University, that’s my main goal. When I get there, I haven’t narrowed it down to which major I wanna choose, but I know either business, the medical field, forensic science or something with psychology. Something within those lines — I’ll be pretty satisfied.”
CCHS principal Dr. Swade Huff, who attended DeLane’s ceremony on Thursday, believes that she should relish her unforeseen good fortune.
“I just wanna say congratulations. It’s always great to see our kids getting recognized for their commitment and dedication and hard work, especially when it’s unexpected,” Huff said. “Congratulations, Hayyah.”
