Three Atlanta high school seniors got the surprise of a lifetime when they went to school on Friday.

They were accepted on the spot into the Georgia Institute of Technology.

It's a moment that, for one family, was decades in the making, and CBS News Atlanta was there to capture all the excitement.

At Mays High School, Justin Allen, Ralph Long IV, and Bethany Momon got the news that they had been accepted early into Georgia Tech.

"I was totally surprised," Momon said. "I saw my parents walk in and said, 'Oh, this one's going to be big for me.' I don't think I'm fully there. I'm kind of out of my mind."

"This is amazing. Georgia Tech has been my number one for so long," Allen said. "The rigor, the honor of saying I got accepted — it's unmatched. All the effort I've put in it paid off. I got accepted into Georgia Tech."

"It feels good. It was shocking. I was really nervous about being accepted," Long said. "I want to pursue cybersecurity, and I can't think of any other school bigger in cybersecurity or computer engineering than Georgia Tech."

For Long, the moment runs deeper than the acceptance. His grandfather was one of the first Black engineers in the Southeast, and graduated from the university.

"It's like he paved the path for me, so now I can walk easier, along his footsteps, and pick up along the road he set for me," Long said.

"This is a great moment in our family history, having my grandson admitted to Georgia Tech and following in the footsteps of his grandparents," grandfather Ralph Long Jr. said. "I applied in 1960, so this is a great opportunity for him."

All three students' parents helped them celebrate the big announcement.

"Oh, I'm so overjoyed right now. I'm fighting back tears as I speak to you, because this moment is huge for us. It's huge for Bethany," mom Tiffany Momon said. "Whe's challenged herself in ways I could never imagine."

For these high school seniors, there are generations of sacrifice and years of hard work culminating when they walk onto Georgia Tech's campus next year.

The Georgia Tech admissions team surprised students at eight high schools across Georgia, including Mays.