Vanessa Esquivel ’25 was “overwhelmed” when she opened her graduation gift: a scholarship, in her name, to pay her Santa Clara experience forward to future students.
The Vanessa Esquivel Endowed Scholarship will be awarded each year to an undergraduate student demonstrating financial need. Vanessa’s parents, Michael and Kirsten Esquivel, established the scholarship with an initial $100,000 investment with the hope and understanding that, when she is established in her career and financially able, Vanessa will coinvest in the fund.
“We wanted to establish and accelerate a future of philanthropy for her. We expect our kids to give back,” says Michael, a tech startup and securities lawyer. “This is something Kirsten and I have talked about a lot—that you’ve got to give back so someone else less fortunate can benefit and learn.”
Kirsten, a veterinarian, says even though she and her husband did not attend Santa Clara, they were so impressed by the way their daughter blossomed here.
“Vanessa spent the last few years of high school during the pandemic and lost some of her drive and zest. She found a lot of that again at Santa Clara,” Kirsten says. “She was on a first-name basis with many of her professors. She felt free to express her opinion. She became happy again, opened up, and really grew.”
The Esquivels say they want their children to realize that marking big events—like graduating from college—is not about receiving a new car or the latest tech. It’s about looking at all the gifts they’ve been given, and then finding a way to give back.
To learn more about ways parents can help their children give back, visit scu.edu/giving.