Wellington, who won silver in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), will study at FGV (Getúlio Vargas Foundation) in Rio.

Wellinton em visita ao IMPA

Wellington Leite thinks of the future as "something distant," but he knows he's about to take an important step. In February, he's moving to Rio de Janeiro, where he will begin his undergraduate studies in mathematics at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). "Right now, I'm focused on dedicating myself to my studies. Then, I'll reap the rewards. Maybe become a researcher. But I certainly want to help my family." While waiting for classes to begin, he has been studying calculus, real analysis, and linear algebra on his own. "I want to extract as much knowledge as possible from FGV."

Until 2018, the student attended high school at the Onélia Campelo public school, on the outskirts of Maceió, and his life was transformed by the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools). “It changed practically everything. I liked numbers since I was little, but I found the classes at school too easy, which diminished my interest. I almost studied physics, but I changed my mind when I started reading the books to participate in the math competition.”

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During his marathon study period, the young man had the electricity cut off at the house where he lives with his mother for seven months and even had to study under the streetlight on his street. Wellington is the son of a recyclable materials collector and found reasons to persevere in his mother's strength.

The inspiration from Teresinha paid off: it secured him a gold medal at the Alagoas Mathematics Olympiad and a silver medal at the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). “He has always been my hero. I didn't have the opportunity to study, but he is succeeding,” his mother rejoices.

That's when the student's story intersected with that of Professor Krerley Oliveira, from the Institute of Mathematics at the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL). “On November 28, 2018, I went to look at the list of medalists in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) because I wanted to meet them. Professor José Lucyan Mendonça, who is part of the OBMEP at School program, knew Wellington and informed me that his house was very close to UFAL. I went there.”

"As soon as I arrived at the family's house, I discovered that he and his mother were without electricity. There had been an increase in the electricity bill and she couldn't afford the costs," the professor recounts.

Wellington e a mãe, Terezinha, na porta da casa onde moram, em Maceió.

Krerley recalls that the three went to an all-you-can-eat pizza restaurant to celebrate winning the medals. “On the same day we went to celebrate, TV Gazeta, an affiliate of Rede Globo , filmed with Wellington. The story gained visibility, and many people joined together to pay his overdue electricity bill. Even the employees of the energy company contributed.” Due to the huge media attention, the student was invited to attend his third year of high school at a private school in Maceió, but he continued to attend his old school to help other students.