Photo: Getty Images
A New Jersey mother has gone viral for how she chose to celebrate her daughter earning a doctorate degree last month.
Camden mom of two Kendra Busbee rented a billboard to publicly recognize her daughter Dr. Kristine Smalls, who received her doctor of psychology degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on July 29.
"I am the proudest mom knowing that I have the most awesome daughter. I can't even explain the feeling that I have right now. She has done everything that a mother could wish their child could do," Busbee told Good Morning America. "I wish nothing but the best for her."
Busbee said she surprised Smalls with the billboard.
On the day it was unveiled, the Camden mother asked her daughter to meet her along with family and friends at a pub near the billboard.
"I said, 'Oh I moved the car,' and we're walking to the car and she's like, 'OK, I don't know what's going on.' And she sees everybody outside of their car standing there, waiting. So she's thinking that I'm giving her a COVID party [for her graduation]," Busbee recalled to GMA. "I'm like, 'The billboard!' and she's like, 'Oh!' ... It was awesome."
The billboard features a large photo of Smalls in her graduation gear and reads "Let Me Re-Introduce Myself... Dr. Kristine S. Smalls -- Dr. Smiles -- Look what good came out of Camden!"
According to Atlanta Black Star, Smalls hopes her billboard can help change the perception of Camden for the better.
“A lot of the time, positive things in Camden gets lost among all the negative things that happen," the new graduate said.
The “larger message” of the billboard is that “there are good things that are happening in Camden and come from Camden and I’m not the only one, I’m not the first and I’m not going to be the last,” Smalls added.
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