Catching up with Jeremy Fehrs
Jeremy Fehrs finds it a little bit hard to believe that six years have passed since he graduated from Huntington High School. The time since then has been exciting, challenging, emotional, stressful, incredible, rewarding and more. It’s also given him a real appreciation for his alma mater.
“Through all the ups and downs, one thing is clear, that Huntington High School, the teachers, my friends, coaches and the community certainly gave me the experience and support needed to push through some of the more challenging and stressful times and come out stronger on the other end,” Mr. Fehrs said.
Despite the passage of more than 2,000 days since he graduated, Mr. Fehrs has a clear memory of a particular faculty member “that pushed me to work harder than I ever had before in order to succeed in a higher level course,” he said. “AP American History teacher, Mr. [Joseph] Leavy instilled confidence in me and my ability to succeed in his classroom, when I was struggling at the time. Ultimately, his confidence pushed me to work harder than I ever had before, and since than I carried that same work ethic through college and ‘the real world.’”
At Huntington High School, Mr. Fehrs played four years of varsity tennis and was a fixture in the No. 1 singles position and closely identified with the sport. The Blue Devils won the Suffolk team championship his senior year.
“I've known Jeremy since he was a student at Washington Elementary where I was the PE teacher,” Huntington tennis coach Jamie Fishlow said. “He was always a respectful and hardworking student. When we met up again at the high school, I was glad to have him as a part of my team. My first year as the varsity coach, Jeremy was a sophomore. In the three years that he was with me, the team won a league title, then placed second in the county and in his senior year we were county champs. For much of that time he was out first singles player, but midway through his senior year, I put him in first doubles. This move was made to improve our chances of winning the county title. Jeremy never had a problem with this move because he was a team player and he would do anything that would help the team win. This is Jeremy in a nutshell, not into personal accolades but something that would be best for his teammates, his friends and then himself; a gentleman through and through”.
His experiences in Huntington left Mr. Fehrs believing that “teachers truly have the ability to influence and shape a student’s life. I still have the greatest memories and life lessons from compassionate and caring teachers like, Mr. Fishlow, Mrs. [Georgia] McCarthy, Mrs. [Mary] Paar, Mrs. [Aimee] Antorino, Mrs. [Leslie] Mitek, and Mrs. [Lynda] Weinstein.”
After his high school graduation, Mr. Fehrs headed to Lafayette College in Pennsylvania, where he enjoyed “an amazing experience.” He continued playing tennis on Lafayette’s NCAA Division I team and was named the squad’s captain as a senior. All-in-all the former Huntington star enjoyed a very successful collegiate athletic career.
“Playing tennis full-time was a difficult challenge, but ultimately I believe it helped me manage my time and gain some friends and life lessons I will keep for the rest of my life,” Mr. Fehrs said. “Academically, Lafayette was extremely challenging, and the professors there were every bit like Mr. Leavy, pushing all their students to think outside the box, to participate, and work extremely hard.”
Like so many young people, Mr. Fehrs’ experienced a change in plans while attending college. “After two years of convincing myself I was going to be an economics major, the head of the English department instilled confidence in my writing, and like a flip of a switch I became an English major,” he recalled. “Probably the best decision I ever made in college, was to choose a major because I loved what I was doing, and not because I thought it would be the ‘right’ thing to do in terms of a job. I had a passion to write, and it made my years at Lafayette so enjoyable.”
Since graduating from Lafayette in May 2006, Mr. Fehrs has encountered a few twists and turns. “Life after college, as most anyone will tell you is a difficult transition,” he said. “You leave many close friends, are thrown into an unenviable job search, have much less freedom and much more stress on your hands. However, don’t paint me as a pessimist; I do happen to believe my couple years out of college have been filled with exciting, rewarding and eye-opening experiences.”
After college, Mr. Fehrs headed to Manhattan and Rockefeller Center where he joined the National Hockey League’s public relations team. “It was an amazing experience to work with some great people and to gain my first real experience in the work force,” he said. “Although I was just an intern, my colleagues challenged me and gave me tremendous responsibility the eight months I worked there.”
Shortly after leaving his position with the NHL, Mr. Fehrs headed to Boston, “to see what new experiences and job opportunities would come,” he said. “For the last year I have been working for PS StarGames, a small sports marketing, management and events production firm that works heavily in professional tennis. The firm has been a perfect fit for me. I have been able to work in a smaller setting, giving me direct experience from people at the highest levels and I have been able to use my writing skills in the marketing field. Not to mention I am working in tennis, which has always been a passion of mine.”
Last March, Mr. Fehr’s company produced an exhibition at Madison Square Garden pitting Roger Federer against Pete Sampras and it proved to be “one of my greatest experiences to date,” the Huntington alum said. “Putting in 50 plus hour weeks, getting a couple of hours of sleep each night the week before the event, and running around the back stages of Madison Square Garden in a panic, did not seem like fun at the time, but looking back on it now I believe it is something I will remember as an enjoyable experience.
This March, PS StarGames will produce The BNP Paribas Showdown for the Billie Jean King Cup at Madison Square Garden. The event will feature four of the top women’s tennis players in the world.
“Ultimately, I am looking forward to continue doing something that I truly enjoy,” Mr. Fehrs said. “Through the last six years, one of the greatest lessons I learned was to do something with your life that you love. Don’t settle for anything else, whether it’s being a doctor, a teacher, a writer, etc. I know this is easier said than done, but do something you will truly enjoy waking up in the morning for, because life goes by too quickly to waste your time with something that makes you unhappy.”
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