On Sunday, Feb. 5, every Keene State student-athlete gathered in the Mabel Brown Room for a presentation from the Hilinski’s Hope Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting mental health awareness and education for student-athletes, the organization’s website reads.
Kym and Mark Hilinski brought their “Tyler Talk” to the KSC campus, sharing the story of their son Tyler, who died by suicide in 2018 as a student-athlete at Washington State University. They deliver this talk at colleges and universities around the country, committed to honoring Tyler, according to the Hilinski’s Hope website.
“They say right from the beginning, they say… We feel like this is the best way that we can honor Tyler because we’re not going to let him die twice,” Carrah Fisk Hennessey, advisor to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), recalled from the talk.
She continued, “That was a really interesting quote; They say that somebody dies and they leave this world, they die once but they die twice when you stop talking about them… They refuse to let Tyler die twice, so they are going to continue sharing his story and continue sharing his story because they don’t want him to be gone forever.”
Hennessey said the talk was “a really once in a lifetime, unique opportunity to become part of something even bigger than Keene State College in terms of mental health, and fighting for breaking the stigma that surrounds mental illness and student athletes.”
The Hilinski’s were invited to campus as part of SAAC’s larger focus on student-athlete mental health awareness this year, brought upon by increasing suicide rates among athlete populations. Rates of mental exhaustion, anxiety and depression are 1.5 to two times higher than they were prior to the pandemic, according to a 2022 survey by the NCAA. Another survey from the American College of Sports Medicine revealed only 10 percent of student-athletes with known mental health conditions seek help.
SAAC President Molly Edmark said she hopes this partnership with Hilinski’s Hope is the first step in establishing a positive environment for student-athletes to ask for help if they need it.
“I think it’s been the stigma that you talk about struggling with your mental health and it’s a one way ticket to the bench,” Edmark said. “Yes, we’re athletes, but we’re also people and I think that having that all in common, I just hope that students walked away with a renewed sense of: my feelings are heard.”
Although there is still work to be done, junior Emma Cahoon said SAAC is committed to making sure Keene State’s student-athletes know there are resources available for them to ensure a tragedy like this does not occur at KSC. “We might not have all of our ducks in a row, but it doesn’t matter because we can’t lose a student-athlete,” Cahoon said. “We can’t lose a student… one of our friends, we can’t do that.” Every attendee was given a Hilinski’s Hope bracelet, which displays the organization name in Keene State colors, in addition to the number three — Tyler’s football jersey number. On the inside of the wristband is the new 988 national suicide hotline number.
The presentation was the first all-athlete gathering since before the pandemic. Cahoon said watching the Hilinski’s share Tyler’s story surrounded by her fellow athletes was a powerful experience.
“I think going through this with our teammates was something that kind of brings us even closer,” Cahoon said. “As lonely as it can be to be an athlete, I think that this kind of shows that not only the team, but our athletic department is really all in it together.”
Caitlin Howard can be contacted at
choward@kscequinox.com
“Yes, we’re athletes, but we’re also people and I think that having that all in common, I just hope that students walked away with a renewed sense of: my feelings are heard.”
MOLLY EDMARK
SAAC PRESIDENT
