2012-13 Women's Basketball

HENDERSON, Tenn. - The opportunity to speak at one's high school alma mater after graduation is not an uncommon occurrence for many former students.

Freed-Hardeman women's basketball player Chynna Helton did just that recently, speaking to girls at her former high school about the subject of abstinence.

The opportunity came about for Helton, a redshirt freshman guard, last year when she was a senior at Lewis Co. HS.  The coordinator of school health asked her to help teach a class on abstinence to seventh and eighth graders in conjunction with a special middle school event called "Teen Safe Night."

While speaking on such a topic might cause some to be unsettled, it was not an issue at all for Helton.

"I was very comfortable speaking in front of these students," she said, "because I feel that I was able to give them 'real-life' situations that they might face when they get to high school and college.  Hopefully I provided them with the answered that they will put to use."

Some of her talking points were why to choose abstinence, what could happen if one does not choose abstinence, teen pregnancy, the difficulties of raising a baby at a young age, and the impact it has on education.

Helton said her college experiences didn't change her topics, but it did provide some additional examples.

"I was able to tell the girls different situations that may face them when they leave home, and tell them that this doesn't get easier as you get older," she said.

With a couple of these talks under her belt, Helton thinks that it may turn into a regular speaking engagement, especially back home in Hohenwald.

She received support from current FHU teammate Kenley Crowell (pictured above with Helton), who is also a graduate of Lewis Co. HS and went with Helton on her trip.