Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has often been questioned over her knowledge and qualifications ever since she gained popularity. Her education suffered a great deal because of family tragedies.
Her father, Ronald Arnold, died in a farming-related accident in 1994, which impacted her higher education. She had initially gone for a degree in 1990, but she felt the need to take on more family responsibilities.
In a CBS interview, she said, “It turned our whole lives upside down. He was the guy who could do anything. I remember going to bed that night thinking, ‘I have no idea what tomorrow looks like because he’s not here.’”
Confused again? @Sec_Noem
1. Shot a 14 month old puppy in the face
2. Shot and wounded a goat she said smelled, left it in pain and went to reload her gun
3. Led three 25-year old family horses to her death pit and killed them one by one pic.twitter.com/YjBgWvIuzr
— PatriotDaughter (@Cubfan13241) November 18, 2025
At the age of 22, she had to choose to help out at home to fill in for her dad’s responsibilities, which also made her feel close to her dad. Revealing more about her experience handling the farm, Noem ended up creating more controversy for herself surrounding animal abuse. She had to put down puppies and horses, for which she received backlash.
She had always been interested in politics to bring real change in society. Kristi Noem first became a state lawmaker with the position of 33rd governor of South Dakota. She may not have had the qualifications back then, but she had the right experience. After this, she did enrol in college again in 2018 to be a positive role model for her kids.
She started to pursue a political science degree at South Dakota State University, getting her degree in 2012. Eventually, in May 2025, Kristi Noem was also awarded an honorary doctorate in public service.
Dakota State University awarded Kristi Noem an honorary doctorate.
University president: “It’s a doctorate of public service. It’s a special doctorate that we give to special people.” pic.twitter.com/CmGK6eVQoi
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 13, 2025
However, that was not welcomed well by the students. They argued that she did not earn the degree, and some even planned to walk out of the ceremony. Later on, they decided not to act on their plans to avoid impacting other graduates.
Netizens weren’t happy about her honorary degree news either. One user commented, “Because she can’t earn a PhD or JD on her own.” Another one posted, “Sounds pretty woke to me, taking something you haven’t earned. Any word on that DEI degree?” A third one joked, “This would only make sense if she were getting a degree—excuse me, an honorary degree—from Trump University.”
