One of the students graduating at the Ulumbarra Theatre on Tuesday was Mishel McMahon, a Yorta Yorta woman who lives in Bendigo.

She completed her PhD in the principles of First Nations child rearing, which provided the healthcare sector with a greater understanding of Aboriginal parenting.

"Myself, maybe four of my sisters and my mum all attended La Trobe," she said. "I went through and did my complete four-year degree in social work and human services and then completed my honours here."

Dr McMahon won the Victorian Premier's Aboriginal Researcher Award earlier this year. She said although she has finished her PhD after six years of study, her work was far from over.

Read more: 2018 La Trobe University Bendigo graduation: students relish milestone

"Part of Aboriginal research is being accountable to community," she said. "So for me, my PhD is complete but it's not at the same time.

"Implementation of the findings of my PhD is just as important as the study itself so presenting at conferences, developing resources for other agencies where there are family services and publications is the next step.

"I was lucky to have many communities be involved in the research so now it is my turn to give back to the research and to put these findings forward."

Dr McMahon was one of 15 Indigenous students who graduated on Tuesday.

"It's exciting," she said. "They are graduating with all different disciplines - nursing, education, and social work. To have such a mob of us going through in Bendigo is so exciting."

Daine Stephenson was another student who graduated with a Bachelor of Paramedic Practice and Bachelor of Public Health Promotion.

His father, Robert Stephenson, is the head of the La Trobe University Bendigo campus and is also an alumni of the university.

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"It's really special," Daine Stephenson said. "Both of my sisters were able to have dad here at graduation as well in that official position. I think it's special for him too so we all get something out of it."

The university also recognised alumni and Managing Director of the National Gallery of Victoria Tony Ellwood AM with an Honorary Doctorate.

"La Trobe University is an institution that helped define who I am by guiding me into adulthood and a rewarding life working in the arts," Mr Ellwood told the graduates.

"If I have any key messages, it would be to be open to all cross-disciplinary opportunities and never fear taking risks.

"The greatest innovators have been those who have been prepared to think outside the mainstream."

More students will graduate at two ceremonies on Wednesday.

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