‘Atypical’ Fil-Am UNLV sophomore receives prestigious Goldwater scholarship

Hyperachievers Vesper Evereux and mom, Giovannie Espiritu, defy convention with creativity. CONTRIBUTED

A Filipino American sophomore is one of two University of Nevada – Las Vegas students to receive the prestigious 2023 Goldwater Scholarship awarded to uber-achieving undergraduates pursuing fields in natural sciences, math and engineering.

Mechanical engineering major Vesper Evereux is among 413 selected from 5,000 nominees of 427 academic institutions for the scholarship named after the late Arizona Senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.

Each receives the cost of tuition, mandatory fees, books, room and board less the financial support from other sources or a maximum $7,500 per full academic year for two years.

“Honestly, I didn’t know about it until one of the professors reached out to me about the scholarship since I fit a lot of the requirements that they were looking for,” the California native shared with INQUIRER.net how they learned about the much-coveted grant.

Evereux (who uses the they/them pronoun) acknowledged the rigors of the application process but also the presence of diverse supporters who boosted their morale in moments of doubt.

“The process itself made me cry,” they admitted, “it was a LOT of essays and recommendations. Being scrutinized to a high degree and feeling like you have to be perfect was a lot of pressure, but I had professionals, mentors, and friends spurring me onward.”

Professors admired Evereux’s work; Evereux was part of a research lab, was recently published in a science journal and was on the presidential honors list.

You may also like: Fil-Am West Pointer is among 2021 Rhodes Scholars

A UNLV feature on Evereux points to the impetus behind their “academic work… as a long-term goal to design self-repairing, ‘smart’ garments using a combination of bio-engineering, synthetic biology, and biomechatronics.”

Evereux originally went for a biomedical master’s but could not go directly into the master’s program, although they had already completed a two-year program in fashion design on a Guess grant and a merit scholarship at FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising) in Los Angeles. “I had to restart and take mechanical engineering courses first.”

UNLV undergrads Vesper Evereux (right) and Faria Tavacoli are the 2023 recipients of the highly coveted Goldwater Scholarship. (Photo: Becca Schwartz/UNLV)

“Mechanical engineering is the most interdisciplinary engineering degree, so it’ll allow me a more freeform education. Right now, I’m working towards being a researcher in a biomedical lab. Eventually I’d like to work on projects that deal with prosthetics and tissue engineering.”

Reputed as the preeminent scholarship for STEM undergrads, the Goldwater typically goes to PhD aspirants.  Evereux may be treading such a path, but is hardly “typical.”

For one, Vesper Evereux is not the name they were given at birth; it is how they identify as an adult, with the blessing of their “parental unit” or, to conventional folks, their mother and creative equal.

Atypical

Giovannie “Gio” Espiritu was in her teens when she gave birth to the future Vesper Evereux.  The single mother and Vesper, her only child, spread her wings in the entertainment industry, in particular, and in life in general.

Espiritu’s signature states she is “Founder and Chief Mayhem Maker” of Her Hunger Media, the font of her creativity – acting, filmmaking, writing, coaching and more.  She carries a SAG-AFRA badge and is a member of the Producers Guild of American and Alliance of Women Directors.

The quadruple threat places her MethodFest award nod below her self-identification as a “bisexual, once-undocumented immigrant Filipina who spent time in a biblical doomsday cult as a teen.”

“Acting was my savior,” she proclaims on the site.  Survivor was what she was, having fled an abusive marriage that led to her discovery of her resilience and fortitude as well as her social justice activism.

She’s poised to direct her first feature film commissioned by Bontika Films.   Inspired by a real true life romance, the romantic dramedy depicts the foibles of a woman who returns to the Philippines for her school’s jubilee.

Giovannie Espiritu and the future Vesper Evereux essentially “grew up together.”  CONTRIBUTED

Gio will film in Los Angeles, where she resides, but she is often in Las Vegas, which is “close enough to for gigs and meetings, but I can still have coffee and chat with my kiddo when they can fit me into their schedule.”

Vesper welcomes the visits.

“My mom and I are open about a lot of things, and she’s atypical in that she doesn’t push me to be ‘x, y, z.’ I think she would be just as proud of me if I chose to skip pebbles across a lake, or be a teacher, or go into fashion,” they told INQUIRER.net of the relationship.

“A lot of the things I’ve done in my life, my mom has allowed me to make my own decisions and she wants me to be my own person. There isn’t an expectation to achieve… she kind of gives blind support and trusts me to make my own choices.”

All open

Gio’s fellow woman warriors grew fond of the smiling tot in the sidelines at Filipina Women’s Network or ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment events who few years later would tower over them and their mother and begin reaping accolades for themselves in and out of school.

Imprinting definitely reinforced what nature delivered.

Vesper admits that “not everything is sunshine and rainbows” between them, “but there is a certain sense of honesty and we are very candid with each other.”

Together, Vesper said, the two have learned how to get along amid individual differences. “We are very flawed people, but we are honest with each other. We can express our true opinions and I don’t have to hide parts of myself.”

While Espiritu has complete faith in Vesper, she cannot help herself when maternal instinct kicks in.

“It’s funny… In my dreams, my kiddo is still 10 years old and I’m still worried all the time,” she said.  “I don’t think the fear in my heart for their safety and wellbeing will go away. But I know that Vesper is getting older (like an actual adult!) and I’m so proud of their accomplishments and the wonderful amazing person that they’ve grown to be… I’m trying to give them more space.”

Between her and her child, mayhem is just a catchy word.