Meet Campus Celebrity, Jackie Montalvo!

Learn how freshman Jackie Montalvo turned a passion for nail art and beauty into a successful blog and business!

Name: Jackie Montalvo

Year: Freshman

Hometown: Palatine, Illinois

School: Medill

HC: Why did you start jackiemontt.com?

JM: It started off as just as nail blog when I was a junior called “Pampered with Polish.” Then I was thinking, I’m going into journalism so I should probably start writing something, but I didn’t know what to start writing about. I really liked to paint my nails and do stuff like that, so I thought, “Maybe I’ll start writing about that and see where it goes from there.” At first, I obviously was just writing for myself- nobody else read it or anything, but then I got more followers and “blogger friends” who comment on every post, say “Happy Birthday” and send me stuff, and I realized this was getting serious. So I changed the name and bought the domain, jackiemontt.com.

HC: How has the site grown since then?

JM: Since then I’ve been contacted by China Glaze, Essie, and OPI about reviewing products or their polish collections. From China Glaze, I get at least three polishes from each collection and Essie and OPI will send me products every once in a while. I also get samples from smaller name brands. I started to branch out and do make-up and fashion and lifestyle things, too, because I thought the blog was a nice outlet for it. After I started writing about those things, I got contacted by those kinds of people, like small name make-up brands. So now I get make-up products to review in the mail and also for giveaways for my readers.

HC: Where do you get inspiration for your own nail art?

JM: I look on Pinterest a lot, and a lot of my inspiration comes from looking at fabric patterns. I really like geometric things, so I do that a lot and colors themselves inspire my art.

HC: What it is like running a blog now that you’re a college student?

JM: Being at college, it’s hard to balance all my work and keep up with the site, but it’s worth it for me. It’s a good way for me to show people around me who I am and it’s also fun. We’ve started to bond over it, like we sit here and watch a movie while I do nails. It’s also nice to already have published pieces if I need them to put on applications.

HC: Is your dream job something similar?

JM: I’m still deciding, but I know I want to write for a magazine. I don’t know if I want to write for a fashion magazine or a travel magazine, which are two completely different things, but I have interest in both.

About the blog as a whole, Jackie says, “It’s nice that something that started out as nothing has turned into a big part of my life.”

To check the site out for yourself (and even set up a personal nail appointment), be sure to visit www.jackiemontt.com!

You can also follow Jackie’s designs on Twitter (@jackiemontt), Instagram (@jackiemontt), or her Pinterest page (Jackie Montalvo).