A family went above and beyond for their son after he graduated from medical school by mounting a huge billboard with his photo and a congratulatory message.
The young man who graduated from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in May is the first doctor in the family hence the celebration.
His parents, Michelle and Roosevelt Boyland disclosed that they decided to mount a billboard for their son after seeing the same concept in a television advert.
The mother of the graduant further disclosed that the billboard was mounted near their church and Ryan Boyland’s high school in Bellevue, Nebraska.
The Boyland family made sure they kept it a surprise, even when Ryan Boyland peppered them with question after question.
“Everybody knew about it except Ryan. And I told him that I needed to talk to him and we’re going to meet at his older brother’s apartment complex in the parking lot,” Michelle Boyland explained, adding that the parking lot was near where the billboard was located. “Ryan had tons of questions as usual. ‘Why are we meeting? How come we can’t talk about it right now over the phone?’ I’m like, ‘This is very important. I need to see your face.’“
When his mother, brother and sister took him to see the billboard in person, Ryan Boyland had no idea what was going to happen until he finally looked up and saw his photo towering above the roadway.
“The first thing I thought was, how long it had been there and how many people had already seen me before I had seen me? And like, a moment of mild panic kind of entered me,” he recalled. “In the past, I have been a little bit hesitant about receiving such attention and so seeing my head 20 feet off the ground was a bit of a shock.”
The billboard read, “Congratulations Doctor Ryan Boyland Class of 2023 University of Nebraska Medical Center”.
Michelle Boyland said she picked that strategic spot for a reason.
“I chose that location because it’s right down the street from the church that we attend, as well as right down the street from the high school that Ryan went to 10 years ago,” Michelle Boyland said, adding, “I wanted it to inspire our community. I wanted it to inspire the kids, little kids, adults, middle schoolers, to inspire that they can be doctors too.”
“He’s accomplished a lot in a very short period of time and I’m looking forward to many more accomplishments in the future. Hopefully, he’ll start taking credit for it a little bit better,” dad Roosevelt Boyland said.
“I’m extremely happy for him to stay the course and stay focused. I’m just so happy for him,” Michelle Boyland added.