Jane Preyer ’72: A Life-Long Athlete

She also received the Rector’s Medal and Student Council Award. 

“Sports gave me the opportunity to learn about my own abilities and to build self-discipline and concentration,” remembers Preyer.

“One of the wonderful joys for me personally at Chatham was the experience of being part of a team, working toward goals, cheering each other on. Plus, sports at Chatham were just plain fun and got me through severe homesickness! Those lessons have served me well throughout life. Exercise, being outdoors, competition, and movement are great for mental health.”       

After graduating from Chatham Hall, Preyer went on to earn a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she continued to play tennis. She then turned professional and achieved a top 50 world ranking, playing — and winning — against legends like Evonne Goolagong. She also played in the Wimbledon Championships four times, among other competitive tournaments. 

Due to an injury, Preyer left her professional tennis career and was invited to coach at Duke University, where she led the tennis program to several championships during her six-year tenure. She went on to earn her M.P.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and accepted an internship with the Environmental Defense Fund which evolved into a more than 20-year career during which she led the charge for environmental sustainability through Renewable Energy Efficiency Standard for North Carolina and worked with consumer giants like McDonalds, Johnson & Johnson, and Duke University. She was the first person to hold the regional director position that was not an attorney. 

“The self-discipline and concentration required in sports are foundational to excellence in any field or endeavor. Developing those skills provides a person with tremendous assets in taking on leadership roles. I found later in life that my own leadership approach was drawn from coaching sports.  My best outcomes came from building a team of people with diverse skills and backgrounds, working with them to set individual and organizational goals, and providing steady support and counsel for team members to develop their strengths,” says Preyer.

“To me, great leaders share credit broadly; and they never shirk accountability but rather take responsibility for losses or setbacks. In sports, you truly learn to handle yourself in victory and defeat. Sports is about the best teacher for those leadership skills of any forum I can imagine!”   

For today's teens trying to live healthy and balanced lives, Preyer offers some advice.

“Learn what brings you joy and make sure to build that into your life.  At Chatham, I learned three areas where I can almost always find joy or re-nourishment: athletics, music, and learning.  As a very homesick first year student in tenth grade, I struggled. Playing sports and diving deeply into beautiful music with the choir were balms to my young spirit. Learning gave me focus and purpose.”