Jenny Petzoldt, LMSW, was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, and is the middle child of an older sister and younger brother. Growing up, Petzoldt had a passion for giving back to the community, especially the cancer community. When Petzoldt was just two years old, she was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Petzoldt went through two and a half years of chemotherapy treatment and was announced in remission in May of 2000. Upon remission, Petzoldt never let anything bring her down, no matter how hard life seemed. She was determined to become a special education teacher and make a difference in the lives of children. It was not until a semester away from home that she realized that teaching was not her passion anymore. She packed up her dorm at Southeast Missouri State University and moved back to St. Louis to pursue the field of social work at the University of Missouri — St. Louis.
Petzoldt attended UMSL for her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Social Work degrees, and that began the stepping stone of Petzoldt’s passion for the field. Petzoldt has worked as a school social worker, a social worker for a Missouri Children’s Division contracted agency and a medical social worker on the Adult Oncology Unit at Mercy Hospital St. Louis. Petzoldt has grown both personally and professionally from every job she has ever had, but when the opportunity to work at Washington University came up, she knew she had to apply and is really happy she did. Petzoldt is the new outpatient social worker for the Washington University Department of Pediatrics Division of Endocrinology & Diabetes. Petzoldt is excited to be a part of the team and cannot wait to get started.
That semester away from home not only helped Petzoldt realize her true passion but it also brought her the love of her life, her husband, Jordan. Petzoldt and Jordan got married on Dec. 3, 2023, in front of their family and friends and are loving their lives together. In her free time, Petzoldt loves to travel, especially to Disney World, and you can catch her at a St. Louis Cardinals game every once in a while. Petzoldt’s favorite quote of all time is “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”- Mahatma Gandhi. She believes that this quote represents her outlook and reasoning for going into the field of social work, and that quote helped Petzoldt to realize that she wants to be the change.