Women's History Month: Pajnucci Vue

A Peak Design engineer and creator of our current internship program recounts her journey to where she is now.

By Peak Design

March 28^th, 2023

Here at Peak, we have some downright badass women. Women who are experts not just at their job functions, but also at navigating the often unwelcoming waters of the professional world. Women who are making history as we speak. So we interviewed a couple of them about their experiences getting to where they are.

In this interview, we spoke with Pajnucci Vue, an amazing Design Engineer and the mind behind our current internship program, which aims to provide a diverse group of college students the opportunity to gain valuable workplace experience. You may also recognize her from Black Friday 2: A Friendship with Savings, which is just one example of her ability to inject fun into every single thing she does.

From here, please enjoy her words:

Q: How did you end up in your current position? Is this the path you envisioned for yourself?

For the longest time, my goal was to get into Stanford (I know, I’m a nerd). Once I was at Stanford, I was so lost. I didn’t have another goal in life afterwards. I was randomly taking classes my first two years of undergrad with truly no plan. I was burnt out, not doing well in my classes, and to add to the chaos my little sister was sick at home. So I decided to take a gap year between my sophomore and junior year of college to take a break and help out at home. At the time taking a break from school was really hard as I was watching all of my friends move through school without me, but it was the best decision of my life. Taking time off let me have more quality time with my family, like taking my little sister to kindergarten. The gap year also was the first time I truly had a break from the rat race of life and allowed me to remember that I loved learning and how there are so many resources and opportunities for me at school.

When I got back to school from my gap year, one of the first classes I took was Design and Manufacturing in Stanford’s Product Realization Lab (PRL). The PRL is a magical place made up of a machine shop, a foundry, a welding lab, a woodshop, and a rapid prototyping lab. The point of the class is to design and manufacture a product using the tools and processes in the shop. From my gap year, I was inspired to make a toy for my sister that brought the playground home when my sister was too sick to go to school that day. I welded together a toy that my sister could jump on and it would create a little dinging sound. Looking back at it, I would change so many aspects of the project, but this project was the first time I felt like a “product designer / engineer.” Growing up I didn’t know any engineers who looked like me, let alone what was considered “engineering.” From the class, I had a revelation that everything around me was designed and manufactured by someone, and I wanted my career to become that someone.

Q: Would you do anything differently if you were to go back and do it over again?

I wish I would have spoken to myself with more self-compassion and self-acceptance. I grew up with a lot of ambition and perfectionism, and it’s been a long journey of unlearning and letting go of being perfect. I’m now trying to rewrite the narrative to be more creative and generous.

I truly believe that we do our best work when we can bring our full selves with all of our diverse experiences. In order to do this, we all need to be inclusive and make sure that we are looking out for those who might feel othered.

Q: Did you face any unique challenges (whether related to your gender or not) while on your path to your current position?

It was so confusing when I started working and the team was only made of male engineers. In school, we had what felt like an equal 50/50 gender split in my classes, and I was constantly collaborating with female classmates on problem sets and projects. It was hard to be at work during lunches where the talk would always skew towards ‘80s, masculine-heavy movies that I had very little to contribute. I constantly felt alone and on the outside, and didn’t feel like I could be my authentic self. This is not a unique challenge to just me and is still so prevalent in the field of design and engineering. I truly believe that we do our best work when we can bring our full selves with all of our diverse experiences. In order to do this, we all need to be inclusive and make sure that we are looking out for those who might feel othered. Bring them into the conversation and ask for their thoughts.

Q: What's a project you're particularly proud of?

I’m proud of my chair - The Guava Chair. Many great designers have made their own chairs. This is mine. The Guava Chair is a small, comfortable, pink chair that fits my petite form and expresses my design voice in furniture. I’m particularly proud of this chair because my feet can actually touch the ground. I’m 5 feet tall and more often than not my toes barely graze the floor when I’m sitting in chairs not made for people like me. The Guava Chair is proudly displayed in our living room and brings me so much joy when I sit in it.

Q: What does true equity look like to you?

Being able to fully show up with our true authentic selves.

Not being questioned because of our identity.

Our ideas and concepts are accepted with the same weight and value as anyone else at the table.

Q: What are some organizations working towards equity that you admire or support?

I have always been a huge fan of the work being done at Girls Garage across the bay. I wholeheartedly agree with the mission of empowering girls with the skills and tools to design/change/ create the world they want to see. I didn’t get into a shop environment until college because I had this outdated narrative that woodworking and metal shops were for boys, but this was because I didn’t see anyone like me in those spaces. We need more spaces like this in the world.

Q: How do you take care of yourself and your mental wellbeing?

I do the Artist’s Way practice of Morning Pages where I write three pages in my journal stream of consciousness of anything I’m thinking about that day. Some days it’s my most petty, awful self that is writing, and other days I have these amazing creative revelations. Truly a powerful tool.

I also love me a good peloton workout with my hype queen Robin Arzón. I have this framework on how working out is like putting gas in your own tank. It’s 30 minutes of my day dedicated to me. It helps me process and move through the stress stored up in my body. The endorphins afterwards are always so good for my mental health.

Lastly, I go to therapy every 2 weeks. It was so important to me to have a therapist that I felt was like an older sister / friend. Through Two Chairs, I specifically asked for a female, Asian therapist who could talk through family trauma, and I was paired really well with my therapist. It was important to me to have someone who looked like me and someone I felt like I could trust with my most vulnerable self.

Q: What advice would you give to other women who may be facing challenges in achieving their goals, whether they be professional or otherwise?

Quiet that negative self-talk / imposter syndrome. It’s a really loud voice in my head, and I remind myself on a daily basis that I am worthy of being here to do the work. I know this is corny, but I like this Steve Jobs’s quote,

“Life can be so much broader, once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call ‘life’ was made up by people who were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”