Notre Dame alum is studying at the University of Texas at Austin. She’s also a volunteer extraordinaire, a habit she picked up in high school Notre Dame alum Gabriella Jacoby ’17 is studying at the University of Texas at Austin. She interned last summer with ConocoPhillips in Midland, Tex.
“The combination of an IB education, the ability to serve the community, and the opportunity to express yourself make Notre Dame very unique in the Detroit area,” she said. "Students bring their different perspectives to classes, and that diversifies the experience for everyone.”
Jacoby graduated from NDP in May of 2017 as one of 28 valedictorians, finishing up her high school career with a 4.521 grade point average, which is remarkable when you consider all of the community service and extracurriculars she was involved with at NDP. Those included membership in the National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, Action for Africa, Stock Club, Peer Leader Program, Student Council, Forgotten Harvest, Student Ambassador program, and she served as a Warrior Institute Charity event coordinator.
Not slowing down
Additionally, while at Notre Dame, Jacoby created the organization Cyber Seniors to help senior citizens connect and communicate with their families using technology. Also, she was named a Yale Young Global Scholar as well as a WXYZ-TV’s Best and Brightest award recipient.
Now, well into her second year at the University of Texas at Austin, it appears that she hasn't slowed down a bit.
"I'm studying petroleum engineering at U-T and really enjoying it so far," she said. "In fact, last summer, I secured an internship with ConocoPhillips, which is the world’s largest independent exploration and production company. I worked there as a production engineer at a facility in Midland, Texas."
She said the Midland facility is where production engineers design and develop subsurface equipment to produce oil- and gas-well fluids.
"That internship was super-exciting because Midland is in the Permian Basin, home to the nation's biggest shale oil-producing region," she said.
During the upcoming summer, she plans to return to ConocoPhillips for another internship, this time in Kenedy, Tex., which is located on the Eagle Ford Basin, another important oil exploration area.
Giving back Like at Notre Dame Prep, Jacoby’s penchant for getting involved in student organizations has resulted in membership in more than a few extracurricular clubs and organizations at the University of Texas.
And just like at Notre Dame Prep, Jacoby's penchant for getting involved in student organizations has resulted in membership in more than a few extracurricular clubs and organizations at U-T.
She currently serves as the vice president of the Women in Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering (WPGE) organization and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). She also recently was inducted into the Texas Orange Jackets, the university's oldest women's honorary service organization.
And in a similar role to when she served as an NDP student ambassador, Jacoby currently is an "engineering ambassador," where she acts as a special representative for U-T's Cockrell School of Engineering by volunteering as a presenter, facilitator and host at a variety of university events.
Well-rounded program
In addition, Jacoby was recently accepted into the engineering honors program at U-T and won second place in the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Local Paper Contest, which judges students on their research projects.
"I will be advancing to the regional contest at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Tex., which is pretty cool," said Jacoby, whose cool bona fides actually go back to her high school. Like the University of Texas, "Notre Dame provided quite an ambitious atmosphere," she said. "It was sort of an unspoken truth that at Notre Dame it was 'cool to be smart.' I remember the students and teachers proving that day in and day out.
"I also think Notre Dame was so much better than other high schools in the area because it had such an extremely well-rounded program."
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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org