Inspiring Story: Alessandra Yoko Portella
What's the quickest way to add 9 to any number? Simply subtract 1 from the units place and add it to the tens place. It sounds complicated, but in practice it's very simple, assures Alessandra Yoko, 25, from Rio de Janeiro, who learned the strategy in childhood. At the time, she recalls, she loved "playing math."
“In elementary school, we did a lot of math. It was the time when we memorized the multiplication tables and everything else. Since I really enjoyed doing math quickly, discovering new ways to do it excited me,” says Alessandra, who was captivated by the challenges of mathematics throughout her school life and chose a profession in which they are a constant.
Holding a degree in Control and Automation Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), she completed one year of her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Davis, as a scholarship recipient from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).
Looking back, Alessandra, now at Radix Engenharia e Software – where she develops automation projects – realizes that mathematics was only a source of disappointment once. She was 6 years old when a misunderstanding on a test caused her to fail the subject. To attend the tutoring sessions, she was forced to do something she vehemently avoided: waking up very early. But the annoyance didn't last long. She aced the exercises and was immediately released on the second day of tutoring.
From then on, her relationship with numbers deepened. Alessandra realized that the closer she got to the subject, the more capable and powerful she felt. The first demonstrations, involving simple problems, gained complexity. Upon completing them, she experienced a mixture of happiness and pride.
“I always liked and had a certain aptitude for mathematics. But my interest and fascination increased when it became more challenging. The feeling of growth and accomplishment when studying it was what motivated me the most. I realized, even as a student, that as you engage with mathematics, its challenges and theories, you see yourself as increasingly capable. For me, that meant increasing 'my power'. Mathematics always showed me that I could go further and further. And so it was,” he observes.
Raphaela Rodrigues Carvalho, a law graduate, has known Alessandra since the 5th grade at Colégio Pedro II in São Cristóvão, in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro. They were inseparable. Many times, her friend helped her prepare better for math exams. She adds that, besides being helpful and a good companion, Alessandra is fun, dedicated, studious, and intelligent.
“Watching her grow up since high school, when she participated in math competitions and had great results, makes me proud of the person she has become. Alessandra has always been dedicated to achieving her goals,” says Raphaela.
Ease of learning
Born just one year and five months before her sister, geologist Andressa Yumi Portella has been by Alessandra's side through all stages of her life. She remembers from those school years when her father was called to the school for an unusual conversation: the problem wasn't difficulty, but rather an excessive ease with which she learned. To avoid wasting Alessandra's talent, her math teacher advised him to enroll her in specialized courses.
Years earlier, the two prepared together for the entrance exam to Pedro II – later, the younger sister, Adriane, would also enter the institution, where she is currently in high school. The now-automation engineer aced the math exam, but didn't get a place. "I passed first, and I believe I encouraged her to pass later," says Andressa, revealing that the roles reversed in 2006 when they participated in the Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad (OBMEP). She received an honorable mention. Her sister won the gold medal. Andressa looked up to her sister and, the following year, won a bronze medal.
“She has always excelled at tasks that require non-traditional solutions, such as programming and logical reasoning,” reveals the geologist, considering that, professionally, her sister is someone “who works tirelessly until she solves challenges.”
Regarding her first Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad (OBMEP), Alessandra recalls enjoying the test, but that she participated "innocently." "I had no idea how it would change my perspective on mathematics. I thought it was simply a test." It was a surprise when the exam time ran out and she hadn't solved all the questions.
“I was like: how come I didn’t have enough time? It was something that didn’t usually happen to me in high school. I remember leaving the exam feeling a little dizzy because I was totally focused. The same in the second phase.” The effort paid off with the gold medal and guaranteed her participation in two very motivating events: the awards ceremony and the Obmep Olympic week.
Alessandra won two more silver medals and became a scholarship recipient of the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC Jr.), which she considered an enriching experience. "In high school, it wasn't so easy to find people who really enjoyed studying math in their free time and who would spend their free time trying to solve a problem." At that time, she made a decision: she wanted to be an engineer.
In 2010, Alessandra and Andressa brought double joy to their parents, shop assistant Maria Yumiko and taxi driver Ronaldo Portella, when they were accepted into UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro). "We took three calculus courses at the same time, and she helped me with the most difficult problems," says Andressa.
The sisters also enrolled in the Real Analysis course at Picme. “It was interesting and difficult, but we didn’t finish because we had full-time schedules, and the classes were in the evening, ending at 10 pm. It was a bit dangerous,” she says.
Back to the classroom
Today, Alessandra frequently works with supervisory systems, used to capture and store information about a production process. "I work with ladder logic development – a language for the programmable logic controller that communicates with field equipment to receive data and send commands," she explains, adding that she also has experience developing logic in other languages.
Alessandra says she feels fulfilled. She explains that mathematics, which has fascinated her since childhood, is present in all the projects she develops. "I have the job I always wanted, since each project is a new challenge and proof that I was capable of doing it. Exactly the same way that mathematics encouraged me to continue."
There is still one wish she plans to fulfill: to return to the classroom. When she achieves it, Alessandra intends to deepen her knowledge in mathematics and biomedical engineering. "It's a very interesting and important application, capable of saving many lives and increasing the average annual life expectancy," she says. Mathematics can indeed take her even further.