LLOYD: Tragedy bringing growth for UVU student body president Kirk Cullimore
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- UVU student body president Kyle Cullimore speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Jared Lloyd mug
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- Attendees listen during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- UVU president Astrid Tuminez speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees take their seats before the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Former UVU president Matthew Holland speaks during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Individuals pay their respects to a memorial honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees listen during the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Individuals pay their respects to a memorial honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees raise their electric candles in solidarity at UVU’s Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Individuals pay their respects to a memorial honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees raise their electric candles in solidarity at UVU’s Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees receive electric candles at the door before the Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- A table near the memorial honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk is empty of trauma packets on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Individuals pay their respects to a memorial honoring the memory of Charlie Kirk on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Attendees line up two hours before UVU’s Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- The stage is prepared for UVU’s Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Flags are placed near a fountain on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- Security forces patrol prior to UVU’s Vigil for Unity at the UCCU Center in Orem on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
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- A sign honors the memory of Charlie Kirk on the campus of UVU on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025.
Put yourself in Kyle Cullimore’s shoes for a moment.
Two weeks ago, Cullimore was just getting things rolling for his senior year at Utah Valley University. He was wrapping up his degree in health science while getting minors in biology and business management as he works toward his goal of going to dental school. In addition, he was also preparing to get married in January.
He was also starting the year as the UVU Student Association student body president, which duties included representing and advocating for “all students on a campus, state, and national level” as well as numerous organizational efforts and working with university administration.
Sounds like a lot to be doing, right?
And then came Sept. 10 and the trauma of the on-campus shooting and death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — and in an instant Cullimore’s role changed dramatically.
Suddenly Orem was the focus of the nation and the world as UVU was put under a microscope. And Cullimore was the one responsible for representing 46,000 students now in the spotlight.
He said it wasn’t easy to figure out how to handle the intense pressure of it all.
“Initially, I felt like I need to put on this mask, that I needed to show that I’m OK and we’re going to get through this all together,” Cullimore said Friday. “But as I was thinking about it, I realized that that was not what the students and our community needs. Our community needs to see that we’ve been having to process this as well. It’s been hard because it’s like trying to show that I’m here and I can do this, while also trying to also show that I have an emotional side too.”
Perhaps the most high-profile moment for Cullimore came on Friday afternoon as UVU put on a “Vigil for Unity” to both honor Kirk and provide a time for the community to join together to mourn and support each other.
At an event where prominent individuals like Elder Matthew S. Holland, a former president of UVU and a General Authority Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and current UVU president Astrid Tuminez spoke, the final speaker at the event was Cullimore.
“There was a lot of nerves going up to it,” Cullimore said. “But I knew that when it was time to go, it was completely from my heart. This is how I feel. I feel like this is the message that needs to be heard.”
But he talked about how he didn’t have to do it alone. Part of his presentation included being joined on stage by other student government representatives and — in an impressive show of support — by the student body presidents of all of the other universities and colleges in the state.
“We had some of our friends from three-and-a-half hours away come,” Cullimore said. “During the planning stages, I was a little nervous to go up there and do it by myself. I just knew that these student body presidents, with all the different messages and the calls that I’ve received from them, I wanted to show a message that I have the support around me. I felt how symbolic it could be for our state and their campus communities to see the solidarity and the unity that we so desperately need now.”
Cullimore emphasized that it’s not just been other student body presidents who have reached out. He said he values all the words and messages he has received from the UVU community.
“I think one of the biggest things for me is I’ve been receiving emails and messages and everything just about how students are feeling,” Cullimore said. “I’ve been able to really lean into the side of empathy, where I’m like that’s exactly how I’m feeling as well. That’s helped me see that I can be a strong leader while also keeping these things in mind and making sure that those things are getting mentioned, that those fears and those worries are being fought for and advocated for.”
Through the whirlwind of the last 12 days, he’s taken time for some moments of reflection.
When I asked him what he had learned from the experience, he paused and then said: “I think one of the biggest things that I’ve learned is that my voice matters. My voice can help change happen.”
He talked about working with the UVU administration and how when he has spoken up, they’ve listened.
“They really try to help in the ways that I’m seeing that we need to help,” Cullimore said. “I think one of the biggest things that I’ve learned I need to use my voice. I need to show what matters because I speak for the students and this is what matters right now.”
So, in the aftermath of the tragedy and the public scrutiny and the mourning, what does Cullimore believe is the key to moving forward, to learning and doing better?
“I think we’ve drifted so far away from just seeing each other as people,” Cullimore said. “It breaks my heart just to see that, especially just seeing the impact that it’s had on my campus specifically. I think the key to finding humanity is you have to find common ground. When we’re willing just to try to find the connection even with those people that we don’t understand, I think that’s when — in my personal opinion — I’ve started to see people differently.”
Jared Lloyd is the managing editor of the Daily Herald.
