02/08/2018

Arrival of OBMEP medalists colors the day blue.

The 576 elementary and high school students arrive from all parts of the country wearing their blue t-shirts for the long-awaited day of the OBMEP 2017 gold medal ceremony.

This year, the event has gained even more prestige. It is being held at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM 2018), and attendees will have the opportunity to witness the awarding of the Fields Medal.

For some of the honorees, the emotion is renewed, as is the case for Luca Escopelli from Rio Grande do Sul and Fabíola Loterio from Espírito Santo, both 18 years old.

Luca, a six-time medalist, is preparing to fulfill yet another dream: studying Computer Engineering at the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA). Nothing could be more fitting for someone who, at age 5, enjoyed the math tests shown to him by his uncle.

“I thought it was cool and I continued to maintain my interest in the subject,” says the student from the Military College of Porto Alegre (RS), who at age 12 won his first medal and hasn't stopped since.

For him, participating in the Olympiads was a way to dedicate himself more to the world of exact sciences. Because of this performance, he went on to study at the PIC program and, from this new training, he was able to delve deeper into Mathematics and even won a scholarship to a private school to prepare for the ITA (Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica).

"The big difference is that the students there are selected, therefore they dedicate themselves fully. Besides that, the PIC taught us how to think."

Fabíola Loterio (18) has three gold medals in her curriculum. Her family has a special DNA when it comes to Mathematics. Her older sister has always been passionate about it. She and her sisters have already been awarded several times. The triplets now study Mathematics at UFES. Fabíola says that the subject has always been easy for them, but participating in OBMEP served as an incentive.

“My first OBMEP was in 2011. The following year, because of my medal, I entered the PIC program. Everything changed from then on. In the beginning, it was quite difficult. I wasn't used to thinking about mathematics. At school, the focus is on formulas, without understanding the concepts. Later, it flowed and I fell more in love with it.”

Regarding the issue of gender in mathematics, she points out that the study of exact sciences is always seen as something for boys, and this is discouraging. “As we grow older, this prejudice deepens. At school, I never heard of a famous female mathematician. All the references are male. It seems that mathematics isn't for us.”