From May 30 to June 7, we—tenth-graders from Vilnius Jesuit High School: Pranciškus Petrauskas, Aidenas Antanevičius, Izabelė Prieskienytė, Ieva Stundžytė, and Ainė Rimavičiūtė—participated in an international biotechnology conference in the United States of America, held at the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics in South Carolina. The event brought together students representing six countries: Lithuania, the USA, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Germany.

During the conference, we screened for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food products from the USA and the European Union, analyzed the ethical issues surrounding GMOs, explored current trends in genetic science, and significantly expanded our knowledge in this field. We also visited the Pee Dee Research and Education Center, where we had the opportunity to learn about ongoing research in genetics and advanced agricultural technologies.

However, this trip was valuable not only in an academic sense—it also provided a great opportunity to better understand the culture of the United States and the other participating countries. As part of the conference's cultural program, we visited the state capital, Columbia, where we explored the city's key cultural and historical landmarks, including the South Carolina State House and the Columbia Museum of Art, and took part in various cultural activities.

Furthermore, our performance in this project was highly successful! In the final quiz held at the end of the week, we won as many as three podium places: Ainė took second place in the mentors' group, Pranciškus placed third among the non-mentors, and Aidenas secured second place in the same category!

We returned to Lithuania with broadened horizons, an immense amount of knowledge in the field of genetics, and new connections that we hope will last for a long time.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the teachers who traveled with and accompanied us, Simas Ignatavičius and Rasa Rudzevičienė!

We also extend our thanks to the Vilnius Jesuit High School Foundation and the Future Biomedicine Foundation, whose financial support gave us the opportunity to participate in such a world-class event!