carmen will forever be with me. >> ariana ortega. >> matt should be on that stage.ge. >> reporter: as this chapter comes to a close, students and their families face the age-old question. where do we go from here? >> i was looking at attending stanford. but there was this kind of awakening within me and i think within lots my classmates as well, of the importance of being near those that you love and not taking them for granted. so i decided that maybe the university of florida may be a better fit for me. the idea of not being able to see them the next day, the next morning -- that's an unbearable thought. >> being sad is not the best option. >> reporter: the olivers say they'll continue pouring their energy into advocacy. with their nonprofit change the ref. >> you don't have to pay the price that we paid to understand what's going on. nobody told me that. nobody gave me that advice. i wish somebody gave to it me. and maybe, maybe i would have started my fight before. the only planet we have. wake up tomorrow and keep on fighting. and survive for 24 hours so we can

for students like ariana ortega, it's a milestone mixed with memories of her classmates who should have been there beside her in cap and gown. >> i will 100% be thinking of my friend carmen schentrup as i walk across that stage, as i wish that she could be walking across it with me, as i wish she be going off to college with me. carmen will forever be with me. >> reporter: since the rampage, parkland survivors channelling their pain into a forceful push for policy changes to address gun violence. >> we're not trying to take your guns. we never have been and we never will. what we want is common sense legislation. >> reporter: their impassioned pleas echoing across the country. hundreds of thousands marching in solidarity. smaller rallies continuing even this weekend. young activists born from tragedy, now looking to make their mark on the future. tom, in the weeks after that shooting, the republican governor of florida did enact sweeping gun reform. the students now hoping to use their voice and votes to change laws on the national level. tom? >> erielle, thank you. >>> we'll have more