Erika Kirk at Hillsdale College Commencement: ‘Aim at Worthy Things’

Erika Kirk addressed graduates at Hillsdale College’s 174th Commencement Ceremony last Saturday, May 9, urging them to “aim at worthy things.” 

Erika is the CEO and chair of Turning Point USA and the widow of its founder, Charlie Kirk, a Christian, conservative broadcaster who was assassinated by a sniper eight months ago at Utah Valley University. 

It was a poignant graduation ceremony, as Hillsdale, a small, Christian, classical liberal arts college in southern Michigan, conferred honorary doctorates of public service on both Charlie and Erika. 

In the earlier announcement of Erika as commencement speaker, Hillsdale President Dr. Larry Arnn stated: 

Charlie Kirk became a national and international sensation, and he built something amazing. At his memorial service were the great, the near-great, and tens of millions watching. But that isn’t why we loved him. We loved him because he was, at heart, a student who worked hard to get it right.

Erika Kirk, brave and widowed, intends to carry on. And we will help her.

Dr. Arnn alluded to Charlie’s untimely death in his introduction of Erika to the graduates and their families, describing the world as a place of suffering and “sudden and violent change.” He added: 

We will remember that our suffering has meaning. We will remember that our suffering gives joy, produces joy, knowledge, and good actions that come from it and relieve our suffering and deepen our friendship.

Dr. Arnn talked about meeting Charlie in 2013 when Kirk was only 19 years old, just one year after he had founded Turning Point. Dr. Arnn said, “I asked him some questions and he couldn’t answer them.” 

Charlie asked, “What do I do?” and Dr. Arnn replied, “You have to learn,” adding that learning takes suffering. 

“Well,” Dr. Arnn said, “I fell in love with the boy for the same reason I fell in love with these[students]. He did learn.” 

Charlie didn’t go on to earn a college degree, but he was a lifelong student, taking classes at King’s College in New York City, reading good books and completing 31 Hillsdale College online courses.  

Dr. Arnn said that when he met Erika Kirk, he turned to his wife and said, “Yeah, I think she’s going to be good. I think she’s tough.” 

“You need that. You need grace. You need beauty. You need tough. You need smarts. Now these qualities are called forth from Erika,” he told the students, adding that even in her grief, Erika was maligned by others. 

Erika began her address by mentioning that the couple’s fifth wedding anniversary was the previous day, May 8. She described how, even on their honeymoon, Charlie was taking a Hillsdale online course – learning from Dr. Arnn. 

She told the students: 

He really understood that this institution wasn’t normal. It was something that elevated his thinking to be a thought leader and really become a serious person – not just a political talking head, but someone who truly sought out the beautiful things in life, the good, the true. 

And he really took that seriously because he loved learning. And that’s what set him apart, just as all of you. You guys love learning. 

She praised her husband, saying that through his self-directed education: 

Charlie was better able to recognize his duty to pursue truth and to defend liberty. And this responsibility he felt to God. He felt it to our family, to our country, and that was born from what he learned. 

Charlie’s aim, she said, was “to turn a doubting, godless and defiant nation back to God. To remind a confused nation that our freedoms are not guaranteed and we must sustain them and point a lost generation back to truth, virtue, and right living.”

Our life on earth is short, she reminded the students, especially when contrasted with “God’s infinity,” so “our choices, even the smallest ones, matter.” Erika encouraged the students to take what they had learned and “be a part of the solution for this nation and this world.” 

Erika called students to pursue not just pleasure or comfort, but “worthy things … the good and the true and the beautiful.” She said: 

If you are going to live as a purposeful being, then aim high at worthy things. Because purpose is not something that just drifts into your life. It is formed through what you attend to, what you think about, what you return to.

She exhorted the graduates, saying: 

You are not made for a life that asks nothing of you. You are made for something higher, something that calls you upward rather than settles you downward. At the center of that life, it must be Jesus Christ, always to love Him and to serve Him because He is the axis upon which all other priorities turn.

Finally, she challenged them to marry and “have more kids than you can afford,” build and maintain friendships, read great books, and love and defend our country. 

May God bless Erika’s courage and resolve as she grieves her loss, works to raise her children and fights to continue Charlie’s legacy. 

Related articles and resources: 

The 3 Questions Found on Charlie Kirk’s Desk After He Was Killed

Charlie Kirk: Man of Faith, Family and Fidelity

Charlie Kirk’s Generosity Sowed Seeds for Future Generations

Erika Kirk: ‘Charlie Loved God’s Design for Marriage and Family’

Erika Kirk: “The opinions of this world mean nothing to me.”

Erika Kirk: They Got Charlie’s Body, But Not His Soul

‘I Forgive Him’: Three of the Most Impactful Moments from Charlie Kirk’s Memorial

Nearly 100,000 People Woke Up at Dawn for Charlie Kirk’s Memorial. Here’s Why.

Please Keep Praying for Erika Kirk