Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Student Services will hold a ceremony to honor 18 graduates for their academic accomplishments despite the challenges they have faced.

The seventh annual Lavender Graduation will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.

Lavender Graduation honors students who have made the same achievements as many others, but with the added weight of societal prejudice, said Carolyn Cutrona, president of the Ames chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and professor of psychology.

“We feel it’s extremely important to recognize these students,” she said.

Ideally, Cutrona said, these students would be celebrated the same as straight students. But because society is not accepting, they are not. Some families are not supportive and a small percentage even disown their children. PFLAG is there to act as a surrogate family to students who don’t receive support from their own families, she said.

“Their accomplishments are quite notable,” Cutrona said. “We want them to know somebody is quite proud of them.”

Jeremy Hayes is in Lavender Graduation for the second time, this year as a graduate student. He said he is looking forward to it.

“It’s really great to be recognized by this community,” he said.

Lavender Graduation is celebrated at many other university LGBTA communities, said Hayes, who is also an LGBTSS coordinator. The ceremony was started by Ronni Sanlo at the University of Michigan in 1995.

Lavender is one of the colors that symbolize pride for the LGBT community, he said.

On Thursday, ISU President Gregory Geoffroy will give a welcome speech, followed by Marcia Purdy, senior in women’s studies and a Lavender Graduate. Sharon Bird, assistant professor of sociology, will give the keynote speech before awards are presented to the graduates. The event is open to the public.

Purdy, member of the LGBTA advisory board, said her address, titled “Everything I Need to Know, I learned in Kindergarten … and the next 45 years,” will focus on how learning is a lifelong process and how important it is to be open to new ideas.

At 50, Purdy, senior in women’s studies, is earning her undergraduate degree, and her parents will be there to see her speak. She is the first daughter in the family to earn a college degree. Being honored at Lavender Graduation is very special to her, Purdy said.

“Personally, I consider it one of the highest honors I’ve ever received in my life,” she said.

She said the ceremony celebrates all aspects of the LGBTA community and is more personal than the university’s graduation ceremonies. She said as far as she is concerned, Lavender Graduation is her real graduation, so she will not be attending the university’s commencement.

The graduation is important to more than just the students and their families, Purdy said.

“It’s important to allies, too. It’s important to the whole ISU community as well as the Ames community,” she said.