You would never guess it from watching the 可乐视频 women鈥檚 soccer captain lead her teammates this season, but Florina Petcu was once called a 鈥渟hameless, cigarette-waving, Albanian floozy鈥� by The New Yorker.
Actually, it was high praise. Her scene with Oscar winner Denzel Washington in Spike Lee鈥檚 Inside Man was lauded by the magazine as one of the film鈥檚 best.
鈥淚t was a nice little cameo,鈥� says the Romanian native, looking back on what seems like another lifetime, 鈥渂ut it was probably the beginning of a turning point in my life where I realized that this industry wasn鈥檛 for me.鈥�
For thirty-seven year-old Petcu, now a senior in the CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies (), acting wasn鈥檛 holding the same appeal it had when she was performing in theatrical shows throughout Europe during her youth, and racking up television and theater credits here in the United States later on.
鈥淚 saw myself becoming someone I didn鈥檛 like,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was not Florina, I was the actress.鈥�
To stay in shape as an actress, Petcu had taken up Muay Thai boxing, a form of martial arts similar to kickboxing that employs knees and elbows. 鈥淚 hated the gym and I needed something that would motivate me beyond the idea of having a smaller waist. It provided me with a challenge,鈥� she says.
It didn鈥檛 take long before she was hooked, and gradually, Muay Thai began replacing acting.
鈥淚 had found such a support system in this world that I never had in acting,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 remember when another boxer asked me to hang out and I immediately thought: What do you want? I wasn鈥檛 conditioned to think that she would just want to be friends because in the acting world, everyone is for themselves.鈥�
Through her boxing circle, Petcu learned about the , an organization that helps women and girls who have been involved in sex trafficking.
鈥淲e worked with survivors doing seminars on self-defense and empowerment,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was one of the most meaningful experiences.鈥�
Through a friend who worked with school children, Petcu learned also about dance therapy. She realized it could be used to help children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, due to physical or sexual abuse.
鈥淚 started looking into how I could do this,鈥� says Petcu, 鈥渁nd I discovered the CUNY BA in interdisciplinary studies.鈥�
She chose a double major in sports psychology and creative movement and drama therapy, and plans to become a clinical psychologist. She says she chose 可乐视频 because of its strong psychology program.
In her time at Brooklyn, Petcu has been on the Dean鈥檚 List and earned a number of , including the Thomas W. Smith Fellowship and the Harriet Brows Scholarship for Social Change. She has worked on the Healthy CUNY Initiative Campaign and been a research assistant in Professor Israel Abramov鈥檚 lab, conducting vision studies. She also volunteers every Friday at a domestic violence shelter in Harlem, doing creative movement therapy with children.
And this semester, Petcu joined the college鈥檚 first ever women鈥檚 soccer team. A novice to the sport, she quickly became one of three captains.
鈥淚n the beginning, I sucked,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was thinking maybe I just bit off more than I could chew. Then I remembered that anything you do in the beginning is hard.鈥�
The team鈥檚 coach, Patrick Horne鈥攚ho had no idea about his captain鈥檚 former acting career鈥攕ays that Petcu鈥檚 positive attitude has served her well in the sport.
鈥淪he鈥檚 the heart of the team,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he takes initiative, she never misses practice, and she encourages the rest of the girls.鈥�
Her teammates call her mama bear, Petcu says, because she has taken on a bit of a maternal role, encouraging them to try harder and even screening potential suitors for them.
鈥淔inding my place on this team has been a real gift,鈥� she says. 鈥淭oo bad it happened in my last semester, but it鈥檚 been the icing on the cake for my experiences here.鈥�
After she finishes this semester, she plans to apply to master鈥檚 programs in clinical psychology and enroll in a one-year program in expressive arts therapy. She hopes to work with women and children who have been victims of domestic and sexual abuse, and she鈥檇 also like to be an anti-sex trafficking activist.
鈥淚鈥檝e had so many opportunities here that have laid the foundation for not just the career that I want but the kind of person that I want to be and the kind of life that I want to live,鈥� she says.
