But that’s a large part of why he was such a role model to her.

What Jessie respected the most about Kirk was his willingness to give a microphone to, debate and attempt to persuade those who disagreed with him, sometimes vehemently. They were in steadfast agreement on what she sees as her most important political belief: freedom of speech.

“He wasn’t afraid to have a conversation with someone and discuss differences and try to find that common ground,” Jessie said. “He set that standard of, ‘It doesn’t matter if we agree or disagree — we can have a conversation.'”

Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. As Jessie was working through her grief and anger, she wanted to organize a vigil. Though Jessie had never planned one before and had no idea where to start, she wanted people to have the chance to come together. She saw it as an antidote to the negativity she and others were feeling.

People listen to remarks at the Tupper Lake Christian Center Sunday evening during a vigil for Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking at a college in Orem, Utah. (Provided photo — Jamie Jessie)

After some initial planning, she reached out to the Tupper Lake Christian Center and Pastor Dave Boyea, who welcomed the idea with open arms. She said they couldn’t have been more hospitable. Boyea’s remarks and the church’s band helped to build a sense of joy into an event that was initiated by tragic circumstances, Jessie said.

About 50 people showed up. Jessie said some others had reached out and wanted to come, but were afraid of some of the threats and hostility from other Kirk vigils held around the country. Things went off without a hitch, and Jessie thanked the State Police Troop B for their presence at the event.

“The whole entire room — you could just feel the love,” she said. “Not just for Charlie, but for each other, for Erika and the two kids. It was a very peaceful evening.”

Jessie said things seemed to culminate when everyone in attendance went outside for the candle lighting, formed a circle and sang Amazing Grace. Some attendees also shared prayers and spoke about what Kirk had meant to them. Speaking at the vigil, Jessie said she read John 12:23-24.

She chose those verses for two reasons. One was that Kirk was shot at 12:23 p.m. local time where he was speaking. The other was the passage’s message, which notes that unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground, it remains a singular. Once it falls and dies, though, it produces many seeds.

“I thought it was very fitting,” Jessie said. “We’ve seen such an influx since Charlie passed of people standing up for what they believe in and not being afraid to speak.”

For her part, Jessie said she’s reached out to establish a Turning Points USA — Kirk’s organization — chapter at Paul Smith’s College, where she’s in her junior year, majoring in environmental biology with a minor in chemistry.

Jessie said Kirk made her less afraid to stand up and voice her beliefs, many of which she agreed with Kirk on. His work also made her more eager to have conversations with people with a wide range of opinions and learn from them. She said it’s especially important on issues that she doesn’t know a lot about, or when — as she said is often the case — there’s far more nuance to a topic than topline narratives would let on.

Like many, Jessie started seeing news alerts on her cellphone only minutes after Kirk had been shot. She saw several videos of the assassination, but was struck with an initial sense of disbelief, which soon turned to devastation. She initially called one of her best friends to begin processing what happened.

Jessie and her friend were politically engaged, going back and forth frequently throughout the summer on various issues, often discussing Kirk’s stance and approach to them. She also leaned on her husband for support and spent a lot of time working through her own feelings on what happened, which Jessie said was difficult.

“Nobody deserves to lose their life the way he did,” she said.

Kirk died at 31. Jessie turns 31 in December. She said being so close in age made his death particularly hard for her to digest, along with her being a student. In a world where hate, violence and bloodshed have become all too common, Jessie said she still found it shocking that such an act took place on a college campus, given their historical role in serving as a venue for open debate.

“I think I went through all of the stages of grief,” she said. “I was angry. I was sad. I cried. I was like, ‘Nope, this isn’t happening.’ I went to bed on the 10th and when I woke up on the 11th and I looked at my phone, I said, ‘I can’t believe this is reality.'”

She felt sorrow for Kirk’s wife, Erika, and their two children. Jessie, who is also a mother, said she couldn’t even begin to imagine Erika’s position of having to explain to their children what happened. Jessie was moved listening to her at Kirk’s funeral, during which she forgave the killer.

“I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” Erika Kirk said then. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

“I think it speaks volumes to Charlie and Erika’s beliefs when it comes to their religion and being humble people and not vindictive,” Jessie said. “I thought it was very inspirational of her to go back to, ‘Love thy enemy.'”

After organizing the vigil, her message to Kirk’s supporters now is not to let hate and negativity get in the way of their beliefs and, in her specific case, in the way of planning a vigil.

“You just have to look past it,” she said. “If there’s something that you believe deserves something like this, deserves recognition, just do it. You have no idea how many people are right behind you and have your back.”

And Jessie’s message to those who disagree with Kirk and his supporters?

“It’s OK to disagree,” she said. “That’s something that everybody has to realize. We don’t have to 100% have the same views. We can agree to disagree and just be humble people and be respectful because we’re all allowed to have our own opinions.”