During both high school and college at Lincoln University, Dmitri Yearby and his family several times found themselves homeless in Washington, D.C.
Yet, overcoming tremendous odds and personal challenges, he was the track team captain and valedictorian at Washington Latin Public Charter School. Then, at Lincoln University, the finance major won the Man of the Year Award in 2018; was his class’s King three times; and was named Mister Lincoln University of Pennsylvania last fall.
In addition, after a successful internship with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. in Newark, Delaware, last summer, in July he will become a global finance & business management analyst for the firm in Wilmington.
“My experience at Lincoln has been a dream come true,” said Yearby. “I was able to do so much more than I thought I could.”
Yearby will be the first person in his family to earn a college degree, to work for a Fortune 500 company, and to have his own apartment and be fully on his own at age 21. He recently was talking about all that with his girlfriend Brianna Blake—the reigning Miss Lincoln who, in August, will be entering the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
“I told her everyone else in my family got everything together at a later stage in their lives, in their late 20s or at 30,” he said. “Getting to that point earlier feels weird to me. But that’s the beauty of breaking generational curses.”
While he was in high school, he recalled, “I watched my mom struggle and I couldn’t really help her that much, besides getting a job, which I did. But I knew I could help others, so I started mentoring other students and continued that at Lincoln.”
He was a resident advisor for three semesters. He has also been the president of the Lincoln University chapter of Suited. Also, under the guidance of Anthony Stepney '90, a PGA master professional, and Jabir McKnight '19, an Accenture management consultant analyst who founded Suited. Yearby helped organize two annual Suited professional development symposiums for high school and college students, from Lincoln and elsewhere; raised $2,000 worth of scholarships; and managed a team of 18 Lincoln students who taught attendees the importance of professionalism and etiquette. Yearby is also the co-founder and coordinator of the Destination Success Male Conference for teenagers, Lincoln students and young LU alums.
“I love mentoring students and creating different events to cultivate their skills and help them understand their passions and why they are here at Lincoln,” he said.
Said Stepney: “I have had the honor of watching Dmitri grow as a student over the last four years and am amazed at his willingness to grow, face challenges with optimism, and exhibit a very rare commitment to the greater good.”
Yearby believes his commitment to help other students played a vital role in procuring the internship that turned into his full-time JP Morgan Chase job. He, in turn, is attracted by one of the firm’s focuses on low-income customers. During his internship, he enhanced the data collection capabilities of a nonprofit organization that helps low-income people increase their financial literacy and worth.
“I wish I could clone Dmitri,” said Adjunct Professor Kimberly Dotson-Brown '93, who taught Yearby's principles of management course. “He’s very values-driven and he’s definitely going to be an asset for JP Morgan Chase.”
— Bruce Beans & Terrance J. Young
