Two UNLV students were awarded the highly coveted Barry Goldwater Scholarship for 2023, the nation’s premier undergraduate award in natural science, engineering, and mathematics.
Vesper Evereux, a mechanical engineering major, and Faria Tavacoli, a public health major and member of the Honors College, are among just 413 Goldwater awardees chosen from a field of more than 1,200 competitors nominated by colleges and universities across the country. Open to STEM students who intend to earn a Ph.D. in their field, the scholarships provide up to $7,500 per year to offset tuition, fees, books, and other expenses.
Vesper Evereux
Vesper Evereux – a rare sophomore Goldwater recipient who will have funding for two years – has tailored his education to focus on the intersection of fashion, prosthetics, and engineering. The driving force behind his academic work is a long-term goal to design self-repairing, “smart” garments using a combination of bio-engineering, synthetic biology, and biomechatronics.
Evereux’s path to becoming a high-achieving undergraduate at UNLV was anything but conventional. As a Filipino American raised in single-parent household, Evereux grew up experiencing food insecurity, discrimination, and financial uncertainty.
After testing out of high school early to start earning money to support his family, he applied to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles on a whim and was surprised to receive a scholarship to attend. Evereux’s experiences there inspired the idea to creating organically infused clothing, which he quickly realized would require expertise in biomedical engineering.
With support from the Pell grant, Evereux transferred to UNLV to study mechanical engineering on his way to earning a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering. He soon joined the lab of engineering professor Jeremy Cho, where he worked on atmospheric water harvesting, hydrogel synthesis, and surfactant-enhanced boiling heat transfer.
“The Funding from the Goldwater Foundation means that I’ll be able to finish my degree at UNLV,” Evereux said. “But beyond that, I hope any success I achieve can inspire those that are going through similar challenges. Having an atypical upbringing can be a source of strength— sometimes life is weird and we can use that to our benefit.”
Faria Tavacoli
Faria Tavacoli, who is also a Pell grant recipient, has focused her studies on public health disparities in mental health, particularly in low-income communities. Her minor in neuroscience opened doors to undergraduate research opportunities at the University of Mississippi and Columbia University, where she studied the role of perineuronal nets (PNNs) in hearing loss and somatosensory neuron types involved in pain and movement.
In addition to her research, Tavacoli serves as a vocal advocate in a number of causes related to mental health and social justice.
Most recently, she was selected to serve on the youth advisory board for Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation, an organization that seeks to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. As a Giffords Courage Fellow in 2022, Tavacoli joined other youth leaders around the country to advocate for gun violence prevention and safety for BIPOC LGBTQIA+ youth.
Tavacoli has also been actively involved on campus through serving as a CSUN Senator for the Division of Health Sciences and is the health & wellness coordinator with UNLVolunteers.
A first-generation college student who has faced housing insecurity and family instability, Tavacoli has overcome significant personal challenges to achieve a stellar academic and service record deserving of the Goldwater award.
“I think it’s important to recognize how many undergraduates – especially students with adverse or untraditional experiences like me – don’t have the opportunity to do research at their institutions because of a lack of resources, positive mentorship, or know-how,” Tavacoli said. “The Goldwater award means so much because it provides financial support to pursue my goals while also reaffirming my personal and professional endeavors in a time when most people (myself included) deal with self-doubt and imposter syndrome.”
After finishing her bachelor’s degree next year, Tavacoli plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Social and Behavioral Health Sciences.
Andrew Hanson, dean of the Honors College and UNLV’s designated advisor for nationally competitive awards, calls the Goldwater Scholarship the “gold standard" for undergraduates in STEM.
"It's inspiring to see two remarkable young scholars like Faria and Vesper achieve such success despite having to overcome major barriers," Hanson said. "Their tenacity and commitment epitomizes the very best of the UNLV Rebel spirit, and as an academic community, we are so proud to have them recognized by the Goldwater Foundation.”
