Two days before senior psychology major Genesis Espericueta died, she asked her sister to take her to campus to see if she could receive an incomplete in her classes in hopes of one day returning to finish.
Genesis, a Long Beach native who was just one semester short of graduating from Cal State Long Beach, died on Sunday, April 20, after a five-year-long battle with lupus, a chronic disease that damages any part of the body. She was 21.
Biviana Espericueta, her sister and a CSULB student, said the disease had been dormant until a few weeks ago when the disease started to attack her major organs. As a result, Genesis had been in and out of the hospital and missed classes.
“She never had a flare up in her lupus,” she said. “The doctors couldn’t really pinpoint where it was, so that’s why it was so sudden. We were expecting to go to the doctors and maybe find what was wrong.”
Despite the disease’s flare up, Biviana said her sister was excited at the thought of being able to one-day return to campus to finish her degree.
“Before she passed away, I brought her in a wheelchair, so she could talk to the dean,” Biviana said. “She was really excited. She was asking her professors if they could give her an incomplete so she might be able to finish later on.”
Psychology professor Sherry Span said she met Genesis this semester in her abnormal psychology class. She said she didn’t know she had lupus until the Friday before she passed away.
“She never disclosed it to me,” Span said. “The Friday before she died was the first time she emailed me to talk about how her health was impacting her school work. [She made] an appointment to see me on Monday but passed away over the weekend.”
Although Span taught her psychology class in a lecture hall, she said, Genesis stood out to her.
“She was such a conscientious person; she always sat in the front row of a lecture hall and always had a big smile,” Span said. “It was a large lecture, you don’t really get to know students often, but she made it such an effort in class to know me and visit me in office hours. It was way too soon, and she really was such a wonderful person.”
Besides being an avid learner, Biviana said, Genesis enjoyed dancing and was one of the five students who revived the Mexican folk dance group, Grupo Folklórico Méxica de CSULB.
“She loved dancing,” Biviana said. “She started when she was 16 and originally danced in another group before she came to campus.”
The Grupo Folklórico Mexica de CSULB is hosting their “Músicade mi Tierra”— music of my land — an annual folklórico show, on Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the University Theatre. All the proceeds will be donated to Espericueta’s family.
Reanne Ronquillo, one of Genesis’ best friends who had known Genesis since elementary school, said that some of her best memories stem from Genesis.
“The Friday before she passed, she was happy and I thought she was going to get through it,” Ronquillo said. “She was the source of my good memories and always had me laughing. She always reached out to people because she didn’t like seeing someone alone.”
Genesis is survived by two younger sisters, Viky, 18, and Biviana, 20; and her parents, Victor and Norma.
For those who want to help the Espericueta family, Ronquillo and another friend have set up a website to raise money for hospital bills and funeral expenses. For more information, visit www.gofundme.com/8kcbhk.
Funeral services were held Tuesday, April 29, at the Roosevelt Memorial Park in Gardena.