Jennifer Mills (Music 2003) Composes and Documents a Creative Life

November 6, 2024

Jennifer Mills (Music 2003) is a writer and producer for the NPR show Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! Originally from Shoreview, Minnesota, Mills has been composing and documenting her creative life for decades, long before she moved to Brooklyn, New York. Her long-running weekly newsletter, The Jennifer Mills News, has been delighting readers (and Mills herself) since its inception in the computer lab at Perpich Arts High School.

We caught up with Jennifer to learn more about her creative life and how Perpich impacted her path.

Perpich – What can you tell us about your path since Perpich?
Mills – “After high school, I went on to get my MFA in Performance Art from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where I stayed to teach in the Contemporary Practices and Performance departments. After that, I worked in Late Night television in New York City [The Late Show with Stephen Colbert] and now I am a radio and podcast producer at NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! I have always had my own creative practice outside of work, showing art and performance in various galleries and venues across the country and internationally. Most recently, I showed a retrospective of 21 years of my newspaper The Jennifer Mills News at Brick Aux Gallery in Brooklyn and produced a collection of my own short plays at Caveat Theater in NYC.”

Perpich – How did you learn about Perpich Arts High School?
Mills – “My mother was a teacher and learned about Perpich in her teacher circles. She encouraged me to apply and I’m so grateful she saw the potential of this style of learning for me and for all the support she gave me to make it happen.”

Perpich – What was the experience like for you?
Mills – “I remember Perpich as an explosion of freedom and creativity. I got the chance to meet students and teachers who thought differently and were committed to living creatively. Perpich opened my eyes to what a creative life looks like and the structure of the program let me play and find my voice. The growth I had during my two years at Perpich was probably equal to what many people experience in their freshman and sophomore year of college, so when I went to college, that self confidence set me up for success.”

Perpich – What are the connections to your arts high school experience and your current work?
Mills – “While I didn’t go on to work in a musical field, Perpich made me get comfortable early on with creative collaboration, allowed me to perform regularly, and encouraged me to experiment and take risks. All of these skills have served me in every step of my career. I remember when I started graduate school, I felt like I had returned to a mindset [that] high school initially put me in, a mindset where you learn to trust your creative instincts and learn to be accountable for your own growth. It made me realize Perpich sets up its students to think in a very mature way.”

Perpich – Are there any people or experiences that were particularly important that you’d like to mention?
Mills – “Jan Hunton on the music faculty! She was so kind and encouraging. We all felt safe and seen around Jan. And Patti [Peterson] at reception. Everyone loved Patti.

I started a newspaper in the computer lab of Perpich before school one day (The Jennifer Mills News) and, 22 years later, I’m still writing it. This weekly newsletter has been reviewed by multiple press outlets, including The New Yorker, and is like a constant friend I’ve grown up with since Perpich. I know it was the ‘I can do anything’ outlook I adopted in high school that gave me the confidence to start a fun newspaper about myself. I love to read those early issues!”

Jennifer Mills (Music 2003) grew up in Shoreview, Minnesota and attended Mounds View High School in Arden Hills, Minnesota, before attending Perpich for her junior and senior years.