LEXINGTON, Ky. — Graduation is Friday Dec. 16 for the University of Kentucky, and students are excited to walk across the stage to get their degrees. 

Nizhoni McDarment is one of the many graduates at the University of Kentucky. 

Born into a military family, constantly moving from place to place and not always fitting in was a way of life for McDarment.

“I would feel just a lot of pressure, just really wanting to make my family proud but also being Native American, it was really important to me to be able to just uphold our values and everything that I did. And so I feel like it was just constantly in the back of my mind,” McDarment said.

Proud of her Native American roots, she says she always has wanted to live out those values and follow the advice of her grandmother.

“She was someone who is just so important to me, and just inspirational in my journey throughout college,” McDarment said.

McDarment’s “nana” passed away in 2020, and says getting her degree is something she would’ve been proud of. 

“My nana would always say when we were growing up she would tell us if we were faced with difficult times to just always carry ourselves and to walk in beauty,” McDarment said.

A phrase McDarment says helped her through tough times. 

“To walk into everything and hold that strength and encouragement. And just to walk with kindness with passion. And just to do everything with kind of that message of sharing your beauty with the world, and putting that beauty out into the world,” McDarment said.

Sharing her beauty with the world, McDarment plans to study media law after graduation and hopes to one day move back to her reservation to represent Native Americans. 

The graduation ceremony will take place on Friday at Rupp Arena, where nearly 1,200 students will take part in the ceremony. UK will give out 2,000 degrees this semester.