Military mom surprises son at University of West Georgia graduation

CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. - A metro Atlanta mother deployed overseas for the Georgia National Guard made a surprise visit Saturday to her son's graduation from the University of West Georgia.

UWG officials captured the touching moment on video.

Malik Heard thought there was no way his mother would be attending his graduation from the University Saturday since she’s been deployed to Kosovo since January. 

"I had no clue at all. I was totally blind with this. She got one on me, she got me good," Heard said. 

His mother, Sgt. Eva Roby, works in preventative medicine for the Army.

She says it wasn't easy keeping her son in the dark.

"I had to turn my [phone] location off, different things as well. But it was hard," Roby said. 

She said she even FaceTimed him Saturday and told him she was still in Kosovo. 

Roby says it was worth it for that unforgettable moment.

Serving in the army, Roby has had to miss a lot of her kids’ life events.

But she wasn't going to miss seeing her son get his degree in Special Education. 

 "I missed anniversaries, other things. But I didn't want to miss my son's graduation," she said. 

The moment was a major milestone for their family for several different reasons.

"I'm the first male in my family to graduate college, so it's a big day for me," Heard said.

"Being a single mom, raising him, I’m definitely patting myself on the back," Roby said. 

It’s a milestone now captured in a moment they'll remember the rest of their lives.

"I’ll be looking at that for the rest of my life, I appreciate that. That’s a blessing for me," Heard said. 

And Heard says it’s just the beginning of his educational journey. 

"We're not stopping here. We're going to keep going, Master's, PhD, doctorate," Heard said.

Both Heard and Roby say they're extremely grateful to the University of West Georgia for helping them pull off this incredible moment.