Adventist Bolivian Student Earns A Place In Arctic Scientific Expedition
29 July 2025 |
According to a South American Division article
Valeria Yorley Gutiérrez Quiroz, an outstanding third-year high school student from the Sarmiento Adventist Educational Unit in Cochabamba, Bolivia, was selected to participate in a scientific expedition to the North Pole. The voyage will take place aboard a Russian nuclear icebreaker as part of the international “Icebreaker of Knowledge” competition.
The 14-year-old girl is part of the Adventist Educational Network in Bolivia and was chosen from among more than 70,000 applicants from 21 countries who participated in the contest organized by the State Nuclear Energy Corporation Rosatom, an educational initiative aimed at fostering adolescent interest in the areas of science, nuclear technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
The project consists of 65 students aged 14 to 16 from Armenia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Ghana. The project had a three-stage selection process. The first stage was a scientific questionnaire. The second stage was attending virtual seminars and summaries in English on technological innovations developed by Rosatom. The third stage involved submitting a video presentation in English that explained how nuclear technologies can contribute to development and improve the quality of life in their home country.
The students who earned the coveted position will participate in scientific workshops, interactive activities, and direct observation of unique Arctic natural phenomena. In August, the group will travel to Moscow to board the Russian nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory), a ship revered for its historic scientific missions in the Arctic.
Valeria credits her family and her education at Sarmiento Adventist School for her ability to pursue this academic honor.
