16/12/2022

'OBMEP made me realize I had a future,' says medalist.

Vanessa Barreto de Brito, 21, a student in the Mathematics Licentiate program at the Federal University of Piauí (UFPI), says that until she was 15, she didn't identify with studying the subject at school. Until then, mathematics was considered boring and uninteresting, but that dislike changed when she qualified for the second phase of the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) for the first time while in the ninth grade.

At the time, Vanessa won her first honorable mention in the Olympiad. The award was a turning point in the life of the young woman from Piauí, who saw in education the possibility of changing her family's reality. “I had no vision for the future, I didn't see myself in college, I didn't think about it, but after the Olympiad, I saw that I could have a future; I saw that through studying I could change my reality, because my family is very humble. I knew that the OBMEP would be a gateway to that change.”

Born in Cocal dos Alves, a city 400 km from Teresina (PI), the student recounts that after winning an honorable mention, she was awarded a R$ 100 scholarship from the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC) and began to participate in study groups to prepare for the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). The meetings took place on Saturdays. "With the money from the PIC, I started buying what my parents couldn't afford to give me."

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After her first achievement, Vanessa says she began setting goals for her school life. The first of these was to win a medal in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) in order to secure a scholarship from the PICME (Scientific Initiation and Master's Program) to cover her university expenses. With her mother a homemaker and her father working as a driver, the young woman would not have been able to support herself in Teresina. The scholarship she sought was R$ 400 – a third of the family's income.

“I knew that if I won a medal, it would be easier to get a scholarship to college. That scholarship was important for me to be able to survive in Teresina. My family has always been very humble; my parents wouldn't have been able to support me in another city.”

Vanessa e o professor Antonio Cardoso do Amaral

With the support of teachers Raimundo Alves de Brito and Antonio Cardoso do Amaral, the young woman saw her dreams come true. In her first year of high school, she won her first silver medal, and in the following two years, two gold medals at the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). In 2020, she was accepted into the Mathematics Licentiate program at UFPI (Federal University of Piauí) through the ENEM (National High School Exam). The student's best performance was in mathematics.

Today, the university student supports herself in Teresina not only with the scholarship granted by PICME, but also with the TIM-OBMEP scholarship. Together, the aid amounts to R$ 1,600.

“I had a very clear goal, which was to go to college, and to make that happen I needed PICME. Then, I ended up receiving the TIM scholarship and I was very happy, because only 50 scholarships are offered for the whole of Brazil,” said the student, who is in her third semester of college and is the first member of her family to pursue higher education.

Capital of Mathematics

Known for its excellent performance in several editions of OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), Cocal dos Alves is a city located in the interior of Piauí with approximately six thousand inhabitants. In 2021, the municipality accumulated 6 gold medals; 16 silver, 14 bronze and 14 honorable mentions – a remarkable result for a municipality whose HDI (Human Development Index) is one of the 40 lowest in the country.

The only high school in the city is Augustinho Brandão, where Vanessa studied. The school has received national recognition for its exceptional performance in the Olympics. In 2018, the school was awarded the Darcy Ribeiro Prize for Education, granted by the Education Committee of the Chamber of Deputies.

"I am certain that I only got to where I am today thanks to the dedication of my teachers," Vanessa concluded.