GECCO 2026 was an amazing experience. It was my first conference as a PhD student, so it was very motivating seeing so many people that work in my field but with different applications and angles. Every session was an opportunity to learn something new, talk with experts and students like me who are just starting their academic careers.

Thanks to this scholarship, I also had the chance to have a one-to-one lunch with computer scientist and professor, Dr. Gabriela Ochoa, as my ACM SIGEVO mentor for the conference. We talked about the conference, our career paths, life in general, and, as she is a referent in the field, it was incredible valuable listening to her insights about science.

In summary, it was priceless!