Mt. Sterling family celebrates their medical school grad in non-traditional ceremony

Months ago Sarah McClanahan was looking forward to walking across the stage at her graduation from the University of Pikeville's Medical School, but on Saturday she celebrated with the people she loves most in the First United Methodist Church parking lot in Mount Sterling.

"She stood there in front of all of us and she took her oath, her doctor's oath, instead of doing it in front of people that she didn't know," Sarah's father, Michael McClanahan, said. "So everything was just special to her. I'm glad it turned out that way because she was naturally upset that she wasn't going to have a ceremony after such a major accomplishment."

The small, intimate ceremony made the celebration even more meaningful for McClanahan.

"She said 'Dad, I really liked this ceremony. It's actually better than the bigger ceremony because it felt so personal.' She really enjoyed it. Just family and a couple of friends," McClanahan said.

Dad himself enjoyed the ceremony and couldn't have been more proud of his daughter.

"Seeing her standing there with the diploma and the medical sash, the doctorate sash, I still just see my little girl. I guess I always will," McClanahan said. "It was very emotional, I'm a little emotional now, seeing that chapter of her life, seeing her getting ready to move on."

Sarah will be taking her education even further with a residency at the University of Kentucky.