On Tuesday, Feb. 24, CSU Pueblo student athletes gathered to listen to Kym and Mark Hilinski tell the story of their son’s struggle with mental health, suicide, and what they are doing to grow from that experience. 

In honor of the late Tyler Hilinski, “Hilinski’s Hope” visits college campuses across the country to speak to student athletes about mental health. This foundation was started by Kym and Mark after their son took his own life in 2018. 

“Our goal, then and now, is to bring awareness, reduce stigma [around mental health], and create programs, Tyler’s Talk being one of them, in support of our student athlete’s mental health,” Mark said.. 

Tyler was a quarterback throughout high school and eventually played for Washington State University (WSU) when he passed. Because of this, the foundation focuses on the unique mental health struggles of college athletes. 

“You are students first, then you’re athletes… you’re spinning these plates and I know you are afraid of dropping one of them,” Kym said.. 

In his talk, Mark explained that he and his family did not know Tyler was struggling with his mental health before he passed. Because of this, they were left trying to process their grief and understand why they had lost their son. “We didn’t have a lot of guidance, we didn’t understand what had happened,” said Mark. 

This process eventually led them to starting the foundation. 

Along with traveling to different schools and telling their story, Hilinski’s Hope partners with universities to help develop the mental health resources that they have access to. Mark emphasized that many universities do not have adequate mental health resources. He is especially worried about how athletic departments approach the topic, “It worries us the most [when] they treat it as a ‘check-off’ box… It’s worse than not doing it.”

Although his experiences with colleges across the country have brought up concerns around athletes’ mental health, Mark also noted he is hopeful. When asked if he thought mental health was especially stigmatized in sports, he said, “I do, but I’m really encouraged.”

Mark went on to tell stories of students he had spoken to across multiple college campuses. This was reflected in his time at CSU Pueblo. After Mark and Kym finished their presentation on Hilinksi’s Hope, multiple athletes stuck around, waiting in line to speak to the both of them about the presentation and how their mission connects to them. 

“You don’t have to wait [to get help]… I’m counting on you to take that first step.” said Mark.