Sample Profile- Jolie Peters

Jolie Peters-Mitnick hails from Woodstock, NY, but now takes residence in Manhattan’s East Village as she pursues her undergraduate psychology degree from Eugene Lang College. Peters is only 19 but has a firm grasp on the direction in which she wishes her future to take. Sitting face to face during an impromptu class interview session, Peters divulges that she wishes to spend her life coming to the aid of others, working with victims of sexual abuse as a counselor, or therapist. “I’ve always been able to read people well,” Peters says, “people have always been comfortable coming to me to talk about their problems – and I love studying the human mind.” On that note, it’s interesting to mention that Peters once played a role on Law & Order SVU, in addition to several other films, and considers her career as a child actress one of her great achievements in life.

Peters attended private ‘hippy’ school, as she describes it, for most her educational career, and it wasn’t until high school that she was mainstreamed. She says the education itself differed a bit, as did the social culture – “I didn’t even know what Hollister was, but all these girls were talking about it” but all in all, her high school years brought many amazing friends into her life. It was also in high school that Peters decided what she wanted to do with her life, and is now following that dream in her secondary education. Interestingly, her initial choice for a college education wasn’t here at the New School; it was at Loyola Marymount, all the way in Los Angeles. Peters says, “at the time, the beach sounded good.” But all in all, she says that she is glad she ended up here because New School is a perfect fit.

In her time at New School, Peters has found a second passion: cooking. She even wants to minor in writing – more specifically, food journalism. Peters enjoys cooking and says that ever since she got her Dad’s recipe for homemade spaghetti and meatballs, she has mastered the recipe. But for now, Peter’s does what she needs to make a living, working at Kid’s Closet in the West Village as a sales associate. “Really,” Peters begins, “I needed a job, walked in, they were new and hiring and that was how it happened.”

I think for now, it’s safe to say Jolie Peters is on the path to something great! Her journey has been an involved one, but still close to home and close to her dreams, she seems happy, content and determined.