‘I just know that he is happy.’ Future UK student brought to tears in viral TikTok

A high school graduate was moved to tears when she was gifted a portrait of her deceased father wearing a University of Kentucky shirt — a celebration of her accomplishments ahead of attending the school in the fall.

A TikTok showcasing the student opening the portrait went viral and has been played 7.5 million times on the app as of Monday afternoon. It was even shared on CBS News’ Twitter account.

KaLeah Steede, 17, of Atlanta, Ga., said her feelings about the portrait of her and her father were “(i)ndescribable” and she felt “this shock” upon seeing it.

Steede said her initial reaction when opening the portrait, a gift from her mother, was she couldn’t believe the image, as she’d graduated without her dad being present.

“It just took me by surprise,” she said about the painting, an illustration of Steede dressed in her cap and gown alongside her father, who died in September 2021.

A supportive father

Steede said if her dad were alive today, he would be sporting Wildcat merchandise in support of his daughter.

“If he was still here, I know he would wear his University of Kentucky shirt,” Steede said. “He would have ‘KaLeah’s Dad’ on the back, like, you would know that he’s my dad.”

Steede said the portrait “meant a lot” to her because she knows her dad would be the “happiest person” about her high school graduation.

“Just seeing him in that picture next to me in my cap and gown, it means a lot even though I rather would have him physically here with me, but I just know that he is happy,” Steede said.

Her favorite memory of her dad was when he took her to her first father-daughter dance in the fourth grade. She wasn’t able to attend the fifth grade dance due to a high fever, but her father made up for it a few weeks later by taking her to her favorite restaurant.

She wore a red “Annie” dress like the one reminiscent of the film’s 2014 iteration starring Jamie Foxx and Quvenzhané Wallis.

She said the outing made her feel as if she was in the movie because the bond between Annie and her adoptive father mirrored the relationship between Steede and her dad.

“In ‘Annie,’ they just had that father-daughter bond, you know, her being an orphan and her in that red dress,” Steede said. “It reminds me of that exact moment with me and my dad.”

She described her father as loving, kind and humble.

“Any time you talk to him, you’ll fall in love with him. You just want to talk to him forever,” she said. “He just touches on people’s heart without even trying, like, just so effortlessly. Just one conversation, that’s all it takes.”

The loss of her father still hurts Steede, who described it as “a fairy tale taken away.”

An unexpected internet reaction

Steede’s mother, Karina Bonds, said the family “didn’t expect” people to notice the video of Steede opening the portrait in the midst of everything going on in the world.

“I’m glad that her being able to touch other people who have also lost or have had great loss, you know, in most recent years...this helps her. It motivates her,” Bonds said.

Steede also was surprised by reactions to her post on the short-form video app.

“I wasn’t expecting it to reach this many people,” she said. “It was blowing up right in front of my face, and every day I would see the most heart-touching comments.”

She said she believes part of the TikTok’s appeal was many can relate to losing a “special” person in their lives.

“I want the video to show no matter what obstacle comes to you, you are able to overcome it,” Steede said about the video’s effect.

As support poured in from the internet, Steede said comments from people who’ve been impacted by her video is what’s helping her “get through” the loss of her father.

“I look at their comments every day just to remind myself that I can do anything I put my mind to,” she said.

Steede said the traction the video received has shown her she isn’t alone in experiencing great loss.

“The most heart-touching thing is just seeing I’m not the only one. I’m not alone in this. There’s other people that are going through this, and I feel like that’s just the biggest thing for people,” Steede said. “They want the most important people to them to see their biggest milestone.”

Plans for the future

Steede has plans to major in nursing, learn Japanese and eventually audition for the UK dance team.

She said hearing about the university’s nursing program and their internship opportunities sparked her interest in becoming a Wildcat.

“Nursing was something that I’ve always thought of to do,” Steede said. “I always remember watching this show called ‘One Born Every Minute,’ and it’s like labor (and) delivery nurses, you know, taking care of babies, and I love taking care of babies.”

The 17-year-old said she is excited for K Week, an event-filled orientation program welcoming students to the university. She’s also looking forward to moments characteristic of the freshman experience.

“The most exciting thing about freshman year in college is when you’re moving to your dorm, you’re meeting your roommate, you’re walking around campus trying to see what they have and see what you’re into,” Steede said.

She said she loves meeting and interacting with new people from other countries that speak different languages and learning about their cultures.

“What I’m most excited about is creating those friendships and just creating memories as much as I can,” she said.

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