Hi there, I am Emily Jacobo, I am 21 years old, and I am Preemadonna’s Manufacturing Engineer Intern. I am originally from a small town called Tracy, California but, three and a half years ago, I traded life in Northern California for sunny San Diego. Currently, I am in my last year at San Diego State pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and beyond excited to become a part of such an amazing team.
I come from a family of five kids and one very adorable German Shepherd, whom I miss so much that I even facetime him on a weekly basis. My parents are originally from Mexico, but both immigrated to the US in the late 80's and are two of my biggest inspirations and motivators. I’m someone who has always put my family first and I’m very close with them, so when I decided to move eight hours away for college it came as a bit of a shock. Nevertheless, they’ve always been super supportive of my studies and have pushed me to be my best. Going home during breaks and holidays has always been my favorite part, especially since no one can compare to my mom’s amazing cooking. Despite being far and getting homesick, this time away has truly allowed me to grow and get to know myself and I’m forever grateful for that.
Although I can get homesick, one of the things that helped me get through these past couple of years has been the new family I’ve formed here in San Diego. My friends have become an integral part of my life down here and have always been a strong support system for me. I’ve formed friendships I’ll cherish forever, and together we’ve made countless memories. Pursuing a B.S. in Engineering has been challenging, but along the way, my friends have helped me find ways to disconnect from school work for a bit as a way to recharge. One of those has been sitting by the water, specifically at the beach during sunset, something about watching the sunset after a long day has always brought me a sense of peace. Another one of my favorite things is painting, Although I’m galaxies far from the next Picasso or Van Gough, I love being able to get creative on a piece of paper with some acrylic paint listening to some good music, whether it’s Harry Styles, Daniel Caesar, Rex Orange County, or Mac Miller. Reading was a huge hobby of mine as a child and over the past few months is something I’ve also been rediscovering to help myself unplug.
Preemadonna to me means opportunity. They’ve given me this amazing opportunity to come in and work with a brilliant team building a product that will soon provide a creative outlet for so many people. I’ll be able to apply what I’ve been learning the past couple of years with a more hands-on approach and I am beyond excited and grateful for this amazing opportunity I’ve been given. Preemadonna attracted me because of its core values of encouraging the next generation of women to be creative and strive for greatness and are values I hold near and dear to my heart. I love Nailbot because of the versatility that comes with it and it truly allows for users to be creative and become artists. It’s something I wish I had growing up and I know there’s going to be so many people out there that will benefit from being able to explore their creativity with beauty. I also may be partial simply because I think the design and function of Nailbot are ingenious and I’m excited to be a part of a team that is bringing such a revolutionary product into the market.
Currently, I am onboarding as an intern and working alongside Marie to help with the manufacturing process of Nailbot, ensuring we are on track to being able to introduce Nailbot to the public on time. I have had the pleasure of sitting in on team meetings and working on some projects of my overall will work towards making Nailbot the best it can be. This summer I’ll be able to work one on one with the product and am eager to learn all there is about Nailbot and the process of manufacturing a product for the first time. Reading theories and taking tests is one thing, but building, working with, and testing an actual product are two completely different things and after spending years studying the material I’m excited to see it being applied in the real world.
Something I wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self, or even to any young person reading this, would be to stop trying so hard to be someone else and focus on being the best version of yourself. When I was younger I tried so hard to mimic the standards set forth by society and those around me that I lost focus of who I truly was. Over the years I’ve come to realize that comparing yourself to others rather than working on yourself will only bring you more negative effects than positive.