The Rio silver medal winner was welcomed back to her old stamping ground by Weston School pupils before she was questioned rigorously by the children about her experiences at the Olympics and in professional sport, and about her hopes for the future.
She showed the children photos and video of the Rio Olympic village where the athletes stayed and showing the conditions some local Rio people existed in, making points about poverty and privilege.
''It's really important to be appreciative of what you've got. You've got to go home and be pretty appreciative.''
She talked about the problems experienced by some rowers at Rio who grappled with rough water conditions including the state of the water, given the risk of contamination from sewage.
Ms Behrent said while she was in Rio she received a lot of support from New Zealand, but was particularly thankful for the supportive messages sent from Weston School. ''We were very appreciative of that. I got to say, 'Ooh. That's my school'.''
She told the children if they hoped to excel at professional sport they needed to keep their grades up and try a range of different sporting disciplines.
Later, she explained that there was life after professional sport and people needed a plan B if something such as injury affected them.
Her grandfather, Dick Behrent, of Oamaru, who was also at the talk, backed her remarks.
''You don't know what's ahead of you. If you don't look to your future, you're in trouble.''
He said Ms Behrent got her sporting talents from her grandparents.
