People mourned the life and legacy of political activist Charlie Kirk, including at UC Berkeley's chapter of Turning Point USA, the nonprofit he created.

The group's first meeting of the year was scheduled for Wednesday, but it turned into an event to remember Kirk, who had been assassinated earlier in the day at an appearance at Utah Valley University.

"It's really sad," said Turning Point member Camilla Bergstrom. "It's been really difficult to focus on things today. it's just really heavy hearted."

Bergstrom told CBS News Bay Area that she is still in shock after hearing Kirk was killed and is struggling to process it.

"Really anxious, I had to skip multiple classes today," Bergstrom explained.

Bergstrom has admired Kirk for years. As soon as she started at UC Berkeley three years ago, she joined Turning Point USA, which seeks to advocate for conservative politics on high school, college and university campuses.

"I joined mainly because of my background and my values," said Bergstrom. "I'm from Ukraine and I was born in Ukraine and I'm an immigrant. I believe in what they're doing and advocating for free speech, even if people disagree."

And some people on campus do disagree. Bergstrom says that became even more apparent, and heartbreaking after his death.

"It's also really sad to see people laugh about something like that," said Bergstrom, who said people stopped by the group's table and laughed about Kirk's death. "We've had people making very mean comments about him and his family, just very inappropriate things that people should not laugh about."

Wednesday's meeting became a vigil with an open invitation for anyone who needed a place to mourn Kirk.

"It definitely helps to know that there are people on campus that are like-minded even though we're a very small number of people and we're not represented very well on this campus," Bergstrom said. "It helps to know that there is a small community and we can lean on each other during this time."

Martin Bertao was also seeking community at the meeting.

"Charlie is one of the people, probably the main person, who got me into politics," Bertao told CBS News Bay Area.

Bertao is now the President of the College Republicans of America. He says without Kirk, he may not be in this position.

"Turning Point USA and his organization, that's what we built our organization around," Bertao said. "Charlie Kirk had, probably out of everyone, the most influence in the Republican Party. He is the man who singlehandedly got Donald Trump elected with the field operation that happened in 2024 election."

While he's still rattled by what happened, he says they need to continue with Kirk's message.

"We need to, as young people and as College Republicans, and as conservatives, not be deterred by this," Bertao said. "We need to carry on the legacy that Charlie made."

Bergstrom agrees.

"I do believe that there will be more people standing up for our beliefs and views, which is what Charlie did all throughout his life and what he advocated for," said Bergstrom. "A lot of us are realizing it's important to speak up and keep on going with the work that he already started for us."