My first day in Athens was everything I expected and more. The beauty of the city combined with the potential of the Ellinikon region made me jealous of the people who get to experience this on the daily. The quaint buildings and houses painting the valleys and plains between the mountains demonstrate an ethereal scene. Beyond just experiencing the metro and street-life of central Athens, visiting the UNIC Athens building tour allowed me to learn the opportunities available to me as a future bioengineer. The CEO of the UNIC Athens project discussed the potential of the NovaSEQ X PLUS – the most advanced and efficient DNA sequencing machine in the world – and how it is revolutionizing the future of genetics itself. From having a phlebotomist take the blood, to preparing the samples, to inputting them into the sequencer: 18,000 genomes per year can be determined. So far, only 2,000 genomes have ever been recorded in Greece. This machine can do 9 times that in a year. This medical feat provides an avenue for cancerous genes to be detected years before they may manifest visibly in imaging devices. Seeing this technology was inspiring to me and my interests in bioengineering, showing me a real-world application of a revolutionary technology at work.