When she accepted an honorary doctorate from Hillsdale College on behalf of herself and her late husband, Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk described the first day of her honeymoon with the founder of Turning Point USA.
“To all of you here – parents, class of 2026, faculty and staff – it’s an honor to be here. It’s an honor to accept the degrees that I will later receive on behalf of me and Charlie,” said Erika, 37, while addressing the graduating class of 2026 at Hillsdale College, a Christian liberal arts college in southern Michigan.
“Importantly, yesterday was my wedding day and I couldn’t help but think of a funny story to share with you clearly in a lot of pain,” he continued. “When we got married and went on our honeymoon the next day, we decided that our honeymoon would be a disconnected honeymoon – meaning no computers, no cell phones, just being able to meet each other, plan what our family life would look like, what kind of parents we want to be, what kind of spouse we want to be, so just put each other in each other.
She added, “So again, no phones, but at the time Charlie’s assistant gave Charlie a bat phone for emergencies, so there were emergency phone numbers on this phone – nothing else. So when we arrived, we went straight to the gym, because that’s what we did, I’m on one side of the gym, Charlie’s on the other, and all of the bad he hung up the phone.”
After thinking that her late husband – who died in September 2025 after being shot while giving a speech at Utah Valley University – was using the phone to listen to music while exercising, she realized that he was actually listening to the speeches of the president of Hillsdale College, Dr. Larry Arnn.
Erika Kirk, CEO of Turning Point received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Public Service with her late husband Charlie Kirk.
Getty Images“So, I go to her and I said, ‘Baby, are you listening?’ He’s like, ‘I know, I’m almost done. I just have to finish a few more lessons from Dr. Arnn, I have a few more certifications to get from my online courses at Hillsdale — we’re almost there, I can’t skip it.’
He added, “I enjoyed it because I was learning about Churchill, and – when he was working outside I was working, it was a great time together. But every time Charlie finished the Hillsdale program online, he would take a photo of the certificate of completion and he would always send them to me, and he would send them to the team.”
Elsewhere in her first speech, Erika urged men to work as providers while women work as nurses.
“For men, you are called to provide, you are called to lead, to support your families with strength and consistency,” she said. “For women, you are called to raise, build, shape lives with wisdom and endurance.”
Erika – who took over as CEO of Turning Point following the sudden death of her husband – has been criticized for her frequent public appearances after Charlie’s murder.
Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika Kirk (née Frantzve), has broken her silence following the death of her husband at the age of 31. […]
“Erika Kirk leaves the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in tears [saying]’I want to go home,'” Selling Sunset star Christine Quinn posted photos of Kirk leaving the April 25 event after the alleged gunman stormed where security said he intended to kill the President. Donald Trump and other key members of his cabinet.
“Girl… you never went home,” Quinn added.
After the silence after the shooting, Erika said that she had attended the dinner because she wanted to look some journalists in the face.
