Shock and resolve: Students reflect on Charlie Kirk’s death, future of conservative movement

Student leaders in Turning Point USA chapters across the country are still reeling from the assassination of the organization’s founder, Charlie Kirk, but their resolve is strong to continue his legacy.

"I think we all kind of had the idea that Charlie was going to be around for at least another 50, 60 years, like, the new face of our generation leading the charge," Sarah Baldwin, vice president of the Turning Point USA chapter at the University of Michigan, told Fox News Digital. "And it's like that whole future just got taken out from under us in the course of a single day." 

Lauren Jones, co-president of the Turning Point USA chapter at Georgia College & State University (GCSU), felt similarly. 

"It was instant shock, disbelief," Jones told Fox News Digital, speaking of her reaction to hearing Kirk was assassinated.

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 Students at the Turning Point USA Georgia College and State University chapter. (Photo: Mia Simmons) (Mia Simmons)

"It was like a time period where I was like, I'm going to remember this forever," she added. "I was in my school's library. I had gotten a message about it. I was about to go do a tutoring session because I tutor privately. And I was, like, this is insane. This can't be real." 

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University during his American Comeback Tour.

Despite his young age, Kirk had become a giant in the conservative movement and was a key facet of President Donald Trump's 2024 election victory. He founded Turning Point USA in 2012 as an 18-year-old with encouragement from Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery.

At the time of Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, Turning Point USA had 900 official college chapters and around 1,200 high school chapters, with a presence of 3,500 total, Andrew Kolvet, a spokesman for TPUSA and an executive producer of "The Charlie Kirk Show," said in a Sunday X post. 

In a Thursday post on X, TPUSA said it's gotten over 62,000 requests from high school and college students across the country to start a chapter, or get involved with an existing chapter. 

Jones, a co-president of the Turning Point USA at GCSU, said she had just seen Kirk at two different events and is still trying to process what happened. 

 "And I was in shock because I was like, this person who's funded this, who's influenced good conversation and good debate is now dead," Jones said. "And I'm like, my thought with that was, how do we move forward from this?" 

Jones’ co-president, Mia Simmons, also had the opportunity to meet Kirk, and told Fox News Digital that she was struck by Kirk's character. 

"I personally was devastated," Simmons said. "I had the opportunity to meet him this summer at the Chapter Leadership Summit that Turning Point USA puts on. And I only got to chat with him for just like a few minutes, but you could tell that he genuinely cared for every student he talked to and invested in them personally. And I know on campus here [at GCSU], my peers were devastated as well." 

Simmons said Kirk's death has sparked a mandate to carry his torch.

"After this tragedy, I really feel led to get to work, to continue to make an impact on campus with biblical and constitutional values, to spread the word on campus but also in the greater community here [in Milledgevilla, Ga.], and just encourage students to stand up for what they believe in, no matter what, even when times get hard or you feel like you're being heard, you can make a difference," Simmons said. 

Charlie Clontz, president of Turning Point USA at Clemson University, was in class when he heard Kirk was assassinated.

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Kristina Parker, chapter president and founder of the Turning Point USA Kennebec County Activism Hub in Waterville, Maine, with Charlie Kirk.  (Garrick Hoffman Photography)

The way forward, Clontz said, is to honor Kirk’s memory by preserving his legacy. Last week, the Turning Point USA Board unanimously elected Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's wife, as the new CEO and chair of the board.

"We need to continue to let Charlie's legacy live on," Clontz said. "Charlie was a passionate fighter for conservative values, constitutional liberty, freedom of speech and whatnot, and ultimately a man of faith. And that is something that we resonate heavily at Turning Point's chapter at Clemson with. And we want to continue carrying that torch."

Kristina Parker, chapter president and founder of the Turning Point USA, Kennebec County Activism Hub in Waterville, Maine – a homeschool chapter – told Fox News Digital that the current struggle is dealing with grief while also pressing on with their mission. 

"I think there's a huge conflict between... great sadness and people being really devastated and disappointed, and a lot of people are very angry as well at what has happened," Parker said.

"But then there's also this strong resolve and confidence and hope that we have, because we want to carry on Charlie's legacy and what he has done," she added. "So the two come in waves and it kind of crashes between feeling really sad about it, but also intense motivation to continue working hard because he wouldn't have wanted the movement to end with him."

Kristina Parker, president and founder of the Turning Point USA, Kennebec County Activism Hub, Waterville, Maine, with Charlie Kirk. (Garrick Hoffman Photography)

Connor Clayton, a senior at the University of Maryland and a former president of the school's TPUSA chapter, said Kirk’s mission is one that the nation's founders would have championed. 

"I really believe that Charlie, his mission, what he was fighting for, was really just really near and dear to just our nation's principles and values," Clayton said. 

"He fought for open dialogue, free exchange of ideas, and going out on college campuses and just trying to get to truth and knowledge," Clayton, who currently serves as the communications director of the chapter’s TPUSA organization, added. "Doing what our Founding Fathers wanted us to do, wanted us to have a country where we could do that, and not be suppressed with violence." 

Christina Ma, a sophomore at Barnard College of Columbia University, who is the founder of her university’s TPUSA chapter, told Fox News Digital there are rays of hope despite grief. 

"Honestly, some of my friends who are conservative and have been very low-key about their beliefs before, like closeted conservatives, they actually started posting about Charlie's death and how this is a tragedy, so I'm so proud of them for speaking up," Ma said. 

"And I do think that people now, especially conservatives, are more motivated than before in speaking up, because I think some of us have seen support from the other side that this isn't about politics. This isn't about what he believed in, but this is about how you can be killed for exercising your right to free speech," she added.

Charlie Kirk hands out hats at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. He was shot and killed shortly afterward. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

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