Kirk and Arnn pose for a photo at a Hillsdale event in Phoenix, Arizona, in February. Courtesy | Austin Thomason

Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff mourned Charlie Kirk at a prayer vigil in Christ Chapel Wednes­day night. Almost every pew was full as attendees recited psalms, sang hymns, and joined together to pray the Our Father for Kirk’s family and in gratitude for his work.

The conservative politi­cal activist and author died Wednesday afternoon after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University near Salt Lake City. A long-time friend of College President Larry Arnn and Hillsdale College, Kirk visited campus on multiple occasions and publicly praised the college and its work.

“I am shocked and sad­dened by the murder of Charlie Kirk,” Arnn said in a statement. “He was my friend. I met him when he was 19 — a sharp young man, full of questions. I watched him grow into a good man and a great American. We pray for his family. Charlie’s virtues were many, and his work for this country will endure.”

The founder and CEO of the conservative youth orga­nization Turning Point USA, Kirk was speaking at the campus event when he was shot in the neck. He died at the hospital shortly following the attack. The 31-year-old leaves behind a wife and two young children.

Kirk spoke at Hillsdale’s Na­tional Leadership Seminar in Phoenix in February.

“He’s important, and he’s a good man, and that’s so im­portant,” Arnn said as he in­troduced Kirk at the seminar. “I think it’s true if we manage to save our country it will be as glorious as the achievement of Abraham Lincoln. I think it will be as hard as that, and I think all of us who help will be remembered. And that will include Charlie Kirk.”

Known for openly ques­tioning the value of a college education, Kirk said Hillsdale is an exception.

“I can tell you if every kid who’s currently in college took the Hillsdale online courses instead of going to that four-year college, America would be a much better place,” Kirk said in his remarks in Phoenix.

Several current Hills­dale students count Kirk and Turning Point as part of their political and educational for­mations. Junior Nathan Fur­ness founded Grand Rapids’ homeschool Turning Point chapter in high school, which he said helped him further his commitment to conservative values.

“Kirk’s legacy will live on through an organization that truly cares about the next gen­eration,” Furness said. “I think the most important thing, be­fore trying to address all the issues in our country that are highlighted by this tragedy, is that we remember and mourn Charlie Kirk. No words can describe the shock and sadness we feel for losing a man who was actively changing lives one college campus at a time.”

Sophomore Georgiana Till­man, who ran a Turning Point chapter at Grace Christian Academy in Franklin, Tennes­see, said Kirk was an inspira­tion to her generation because of his firm stance on Chrisitan values and Biblical truth.

“The act of violence that claimed Charlie Kirk’s life today is the very thing he de­voted his public career to end­ing: brutality over discourse,” Tillman said. “In the wake of this tragedy, I pray that we see in America’s youth a renewed love for the truth and a cour­age to tell it.”

Sophomore Phoebe Warren heard Kirk speak this summer at a Turning Point women’s conference.

“I loved seeing how Char­lie Kirk encouraged everyone, regardless of their feelings toward him or his party, to be informed of the facts,” she said. “His love for good con­versation is what constantly reminds me how blessed I am to study at an institution that he loved for that very reason.”