22/12/2023

'OBMEP encouraged me to study', says medalist.

After winning his first gold medal at the 18th edition of OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), Kevin Neves, a student at the Mariano Ferreira de Nazareth Municipal School in Domingos Martins, Espírito Santo, decided to expand his participation in scientific competitions. The student, who won a bronze medal last year, says that OBMEP encouraged him to study.

“Last year was the first time I participated in the math olympiad and I won a bronze medal. I wasn't much of a student, but after winning the bronze, I decided to work harder and dedicate myself more. The OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad) encouraged me to study. Now, I plan to research other olympiads and take more tests,” said the 14-year-old student.

Kevin says that participating in the PIC (Junior Scientific Initiation Program) this year was also crucial in advancing his studies. It was through the invitation to join the program that he learned about the first medal he had won.

“I didn’t know what OBMEP was before taking the test. I only started to understand it better when I received an email from PIC last year. It was an invitation to participate in the program, and I only saw it by chance. I don’t usually check emails, but since I was trying to download a game, I ended up seeing it. I hadn’t realized I was a medalist. I was very lucky, and it was great to participate in the program. I learned several things that I didn’t learn in school. My biggest difficulty in high school was Geometry, and PIC helped me a lot. The classes started to present me with challenges, and I liked it,” she says.

Kevin also mentions that the R$ 300 scholarship offered by PIC to public school students who won awards in OBMEP has turned into savings for the student.

"I don't care about shopping. I always like to keep money saved for emergencies, and I ended up building a savings account."

The student was the only gold medalist from the Mariano Ferreira de Nazareth school. In Domingos Martins, a city with 35,000 inhabitants, two other students also won the gold medal.