Charlotte's Raynor takes the reins

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- University of North Carolina students headed back to class Tuesday, but many with heavy hearts. Slain student body president Eve Carson was no doubt far from their minds.

The new student body president calls Charlotte home, and she spoke with NewsChannel 36 before she headed back to Chapel Hill.

"Carolina's a really special place," said J.J. Raynor. "Couldn't walk for more than 50 feet without seeing someone you knew."

And Eve Carson was a special kind of girl.

"She seemed like she was larger than life -- she was," Raynor said.

Carson was gunned down in March, just a month after giving over the office to Raynor.

"People are closer, and I think there's still a lot of that coming together... people are still really struggling to deal with what happened," Raynor said.

Even now, as they head back to class after summer break, students are struggling to understand.

"In terms of understanding or being able to comprehend, I don't think people are even there yet, still," Raynor said. "Things are still not back to normal I think... You hear a lot of people talking about their legacy, and for me it's a little striking because were 20, 18, 19, 21 and we're talking about leaving a legacy."

Raynor says Carson's legacy is evident among the students she led.

"The thing that I think she did really well was empowering other people and just made other people realize their goals were important," Raynor said. "That was the biggest thing she did was empowering other people."

It's something Raynor says she is also trying to do -- to follow in her mentor's footsteps, making sure the legacy lives on.