Only a few units short of completing a bachelor of visual arts at the Australian National University (ANU), Elissa Jackson sadly died after a short and unexpected illness.

But her dedication to her studies and the intricate artworks she created was not in vain.

The university honoured the visual arts student at what would have been her graduation ceremony with a posthumous award - an honour granted to a recipient who has died.

In attendance to accept the recognition was Elissa Jackson's parents Stephen and Nadia, her brother and sister Luke and Tiarna, and her best friend Ellen Lee.

But it was Tiarna Jackson who actually took to the stage in honour of her older sister, and it was a moment she will never forget.

"It was really special ... we definitely wanted to make sure she got the recognition she deserved," Ms Jackson said.

"When I walked on the stage it was probably the loudest applause.

"It was about a three-hour ceremony, it was really long and it was really daunting ... but once I got on stage it was the biggest applause, we thought, during the whole three hours."

With a framed photo of her sister in-hand, Ms Jackson accepted the degree, gave a short speech and then rejoined her family seated in the second row.

Having been right by her sister's side in 2016, when they both by pure coincidence were accepted into ANU and made the move to Canberra together, it was fitting that Ms Jackson was able to be at the graduation ceremony and close the curtains on that chapter for her sister.

Ms Jackson said some of her favourite memories were with her sister at ANU, and it meant a lot to her to be the one to receive the posthumous award.

"We moved to Canberra at the same time which was really cool," she said.

"We were there together for five years, so it was sentimental in a way for me, it was like I was signing her off and it was me finishing that chapter with her."

Ms Jackson thanked everyone at the university for how kind and helpful they were, and is humbled to know that her sister's legacy and accomplishments in art will live on.