15/05/2020

In an article in JB, medalist recounts the impact of OBMEP.

Every year, 18 million students participate in the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP). From different cities and realities, these boys and girls are united by mathematics and its transformative power. Young Francisco Victer, a Production Engineering student at the Polytechnic School of UFRJ, reported in the article "The Boy Who Calculated", published this Thursday (14) in Jornal do Brasil , the impact of OBMEP on his life.

Francisco's first math olympiad came about by chance in his first year of high school. He had just started studying at a federal college and signed up for the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). The difficulty of the test intimidated the young man, but, curious, he persevered and was surprised to advance to the second phase of the competition.

"This time, the questions were discursive, and the clever logic problems were unlike anything I had ever seen in elementary school. Despite my poor performance given the time constraints, something in my reasoning must have caught the attention of the examiners, who considered my answers worthy of an 'Honorable Mention'," he says.

Encouraged by the honorable mention, Francisco prepared to participate again, now aiming for a medal. But an accident a week before the race almost kept the young man out of the competition. Encouraged by his father, he didn't give up.

"Even though I was suffering from a headache, I took the test the following week in a room that had been generously adapted for me by the organizers. I don't regret that sacrifice today, since that's how I won my first medal in a serious Olympiad, even if it was a bronze."

Passionate about OBMEP, Francisco began competing in other mathematics and physics olympiads, and new medals were added to his collection. "That's the magic of an olympiad like OBMEP: no matter who you are, where you are, or what your background is, that set of questions gives each of us the potential to put our logical abilities into practice, and, even if only for a moment, to feel like true Olympic athletes (or magicians)."

In the text, the student also highlights the importance of the Scientific Initiation Program (PIC), which provides CNPq scholarships to medalists, and the role of the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) in ensuring the Olympiad for future generations.

Read the full article:

The Boy Who Calculated

One day, a 14-year-old boy was starting his first day of classes at a federal institution. Regarding starting high school far from home, his father had only given him one piece of advice: "seek opportunities." The principal of that institution, as he concluded his speech to an auditorium full of freshmen, remembered something: "Ladies and gentlemen, before we finish, the mathematics coordinator would like to pass around a registration list for an Olympiad we will be participating in." Not all the freshmen signed their names, but, remembering my father's words, I wasn't among them.

A week later, I was surprised to receive a notice that "that math olympiad is tomorrow," and before I knew it, I was in a classroom trying to solve those 20 multiple-choice questions. I was surprised by the difficulty of the questions on that test, and even more surprised to discover that it was only the "first phase." And my surprise tripled when a teacher told me that "I had been approved for the second phase, which would take place at another school."

Still inexperienced, I was a little hesitant to spend a Saturday afternoon solving an enigmatic test, but curiosity convinced me to go ahead. This time, the clever logic questions were essay-based and unlike anything I had ever seen in elementary school, and despite my poor performance given the time constraint, something in my reasoning must have caught the attention of the examiners, who considered my answers worthy of an "Honorable Mention".

In my second year of high school, I was much more prepared and proficient in mathematics, and I passed the first phase of what I already knew as the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools, OBMEP, without major problems. This time, ambitions were already running through my head: "Will I be able to win a medal?". And it was a week before the final phase of this test that I was involved in an accident that left me with three torn ligaments in my ankle and unable to walk for months. Encouraged by my father, even though I was suffering from a headache, I took the test the following week in a room that had been generously adapted for me by the organizers. I don't regret that sacrifice today, since that's how I won my first medal in a serious Olympiad, even if it was a bronze one.

At the medal presentation ceremony, I heard far more moving stories than my own about humble students from all over Brazil whose lives have been changed by projects like this. This is especially true when considering the Scientific Initiation Program (PIC), which provides CNPq scholarships and additional opportunities to study mathematics for young people who achieved excellent results on the exam. Even though it was interrupted by a serious situation like the coronavirus, it is crucial that the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) maintains this initiative for future generations. And that is the magic of an Olympiad like OBMEP: no matter who you are, where you are, or what your background is, that set of questions gives each of us the potential to put our logical abilities into practice and, even if only for a moment, feel like true Olympic athletes (or magicians).

For a boy, this unique experience is inspiring. In my third year of high school, already recovered, I won medals in international and national olympiads, such as the Australian Kangaroo, Mathematics Without Borders, and the OBFEP, the Physics counterpart of the OBMEP. As for this one I knew well, I aced the first test, and out of 18 million total candidates, I was less than 20 positions away from winning one of the hundred gold medals awarded to candidates in the category. Leaving high school, that boy's only regret was never being able to repeat that test.

FRANCISCO VICTER is a Production Engineering student at the Polytechnic School of UFRJ.