{"id":2993,"date":"2026-02-07T10:48:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/2993\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T10:48:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T10:48:26","slug":"when-in-riga-two-2025-isef-alums-continue-their-stem-journey-in-latvia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/2993\/","title":{"rendered":"When in Riga! Two 2025 ISEF alums continue their STEM journey in Latvia"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto Courtesy of Ethan Yan<\/p>\n

Following their success at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron ISEF<\/a>) in Columbus, Ohio, two finalists took their STEM journey abroad, representing the United States at the European Union Contest for Young Scientists<\/a> (EUCYS) in Riga, Latvia.<\/p>\n

Ethan Yan<\/a> of Groton, Mass., and Abigail Qi<\/a> of Baton Rouge, La., received this honor after winning the EU Contest for Young Scientists Award for their projects in biomedical engineering and microbiology, respectively. At EUCYS, which celebrates the best young scientific talent from Europe and beyond, the finalists from the United States presented their work before an esteemed international jury and spent a week experiencing Latvia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole week was an unforgettable experience, so it\u2019s hard to choose one highlight. If I had to pick, I would say my favorite part was visiting the Baltic Sea,\u201d Abigail says. When they arrived at the beach, the finalists worked together to form the letters \u201cEUCYS\u201d and a drone captured the moment. \u201cLooking back, I think it was a moment when I really bonded with many of my new friends,\u201d Abigail says. When they weren\u2019t presenting their projects, Abigail and Ethan had the opportunity to explore and fully immerse themselves in Latvian culture.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOne of my favorite moments was at the Silver Grove in Mezaparks, where the Latvian Song and Dance Festival is held. The EUCYS group met up with a choir from a local school there and we got to hear the choir sing. It was so majestic because the sound was reflecting off a huge dome. It was one of the moments where I felt we really got to bond with locals,\u201d Ethan says. He also recalls that right up to the last day of judging, his booth neighbors were still humming music from the choir performance.<\/p>\n

Ethan won a third-place prize at the contest for his project titled, \u201cMedicine project: RetinAI: A Low-Cost AI System With a Wearable Headset and Retinal Imaging for Eye Tumor Home-Screening.\u201d This was the same project he presented at Regeneron ISEF. \u201cI was thrilled and excited to receive this award at EUCYS,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cComing from the United States as a guest country, we were warmly welcomed by everyone at EUCYS, including the organizers, our fellow presenters and the local visitors. It was incredibly meaningful to be recognized in an event that brings together passion and intellect from Europe and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abigail says this trip taught her to embrace new experiences with confidence and to see every moment as a chance to learn, grow and make meaningful memories. She shares that stepping out of her comfort zone led to amazing connections and opportunities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe chance to meet like-minded student researchers was truly special, and being surrounded by their passion for science was deeply inspiring,\u201d Abigail notes. \u201cThe cultures I connected with, the memories I created and the friendships formed are things I will cherish for the rest of my life!\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, Ethan says one lesson he learned at Regeneron ISEF and EUCYS is the value of being surrounded by other student researchers. \u201cBecause judging was only a small portion of the time spent at EUCYS, I was able to explore most of the projects at the fair,\u201d Ethan says. \u201cIt was inspiring to connect with so many students from Europe and beyond. Science and research are truly more about sharing ideas and connecting with peers than it is about competition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abigail and Ethan have this advice for students interested in this type of opportunity: \u201cTry not to get too nervous about judging and really take the time to meet new people during the fair,\u201d Ethan explains. \u201cIt\u2019ll make the experience go more smoothly. Overall, you\u2019ll come out of the fair having enjoyed it much more than if you had solely concentrated on judging.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest piece of advice is to find a topic you truly care about and fully commit to it,\u201d Abigail says. \u201cLet your passion and knowledge shine through!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo Courtesy of Ethan Yan Following their success at the 2025 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Regeneron…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[91],"tags":[3257,169,3258,168],"class_list":["post-2993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-riga","tag-alumni","tag-latvia","tag-regeneron-isef","tag-riga"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}