Get inspired: Inside Memorial Sloan Kettering's pediatric graduation

UPPER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) -- Graduation day is something many families look forward to, but this ceremony isn't your typical one.

For 35 high school students and their families who have proven their toughness, the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center pediatric graduation was a welcome and inspiring event.

**Get inspired by emotional graduation in video above**

Each year, Sloan Kettering celebrates patients who battled cancer or a blood disorder and are receiving their high school diploma or equivalency.

"Today is an amazing day," one graduate said. "I've been looking forward to this more than my own graduation back home."

The graduates are either current patients or were treated as children and no longer visit Sloan Kettering on a regular basis. In addition to students from the Tri-State Area, the class of 2017 is made up of students all over the country and world, from Florida and North Carolina all the way to France and Italy.

The event is organized by Sloan Kettering's Department of Pediatrics, and it is also coordinated with the New York City Department of Education Hospital Schools program.