CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nearly 5,000 UNC-Charlotte students graduated this weekend.

A ceremony, just 11 days after the deadly shooting on campus, couldn't go on without honoring the students lost and injured in that tragedy.

Emily Houpt received a standing ovation from her class as did the family of Riley Howell. Hailed a hero for tackling the shooter, Howell lost his life, but the university is making sure his family knows he will forever be a 49er. The university presented the family his degree in memoriam.

Graduation day is generally a time of celebration after years of hard work.

“I'm super excited. I'm very proud to be an alumni from here. This has just been the best experience and I love this school with all my heart,” biology major Audrey Brunt said. 

But all the pomp and circumstance couldn't make anyone forget about the last eleven days. 

“It's this lingering gloom feeling that you have,” Yasmin Forbes said. 

The university added extra security measures for graduation. A sentiment throughout the ceremony was “Charlotte Strong.”

We're not going to give the shooter satisfaction because what he wants is fear, wo coming here together and uniting is the opposite of what he wanted," Emily Capito, a junior, said.

Riley Howell and Reed Parlier are gone, but their legacy will live on through a million-dollar scholarship in their honor.  

“From today forward each scholarship will enable the spirit and legacy of each of these young men to be present always on our campus,” Chancellor Phillip Dubois said.