How Far Erika And Charlie Kirk Really Got In School

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Charlie and Erika Kirk seemed to know the secret to a successful marriage; before Charlie's tragic murder in September 2025, the couple often spoke of their love for each other and for their two children. They were also proof that couples don't necessarily have to have identical backgrounds to be a good match, as the Turning Point USA co-founder and his entrepreneur wife have very different educational histories.

Erika Kirk's eventful life has included quite a few years in academia. She attended Regis University, a Jesuit Catholic institution in Denver, where she was a member of their NCAA women's basketball team. She returned to her Arizona home after her sophomore year, completing her degree in political science and international relations at Arizona State University. Following her stint as a beauty queen — she was Miss Arizona — Erika went on to earn her Juris Master degree in American legal studies at Virginia's Liberty University. Her website lists her as a "current" candidate for a doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty, but it's not known whether Erika has put her studies on hold in the wake of her widowhood.

Charlie Kirk took a much different path. Raised in the Chicago suburbs, he graduated from Wheeling High School in 2012 , where he first developed an interest in politics. His hope of attending West Point was shattered when his application was rejected — he felt affirmative action was to blame — and after one semester at community college, Charlie turned his attention to becoming a spokesperson for conservative youth. He co-founded TPUSA at just 18 and helped it expand into the influential organization that helped Donald Trump win his second presidential term.

For someone who never got his degree, Charlie Kirk spent a lot of time on college grounds. He traveled nationwide to help establish Turning Point chapters on campuses and to debate hot-button topics with liberal students. He also wrote a bestselling 2022 book, "The College Scam: How America's Universities are Bankrupting and Brainwashing Away the Future of America's Youth." For most undergrads, Charlie argued, a university is just an indoctrination factory creating unemployable, America-hating socialists saddled with student loan debt. One reviewer on Goodreads summarized Kirk's points: "1.College is expensive and not worth it. 2) Anyone can just be successful being a business person! 3) Liberals are bad people, bad bad bad!" 

Under Charlie's direction, Turning Point USA created a highly criticized "Professor Watchlist" which publicizes the names and images of college staff whose teachings and social media activity are at odds with conservative views. Among them are more than 50 from his wife Erika's alma mater, Arizona State University. Some on the list have reported being harassed and threatened as a result, while others argue that TPUSA is suppressing free speech and making it more difficult for educators to maintain an open dialogue with students. 

If Erika had an issue with her husband's dim view of higher education, she never expressed it. Neither did Donald Trump or his children, who all have college degrees and put them to good use. But just as the Trumps managed to get through school without becoming woke-ified, so did Charlie become highly successful and revered by fans without the help of a college diploma.