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Student from Coruripe became a national highlight by combining family routine with numbers, school preparation, and rare performance in OBMEP, a competition that expanded her academic experiences and reinforced the role of public schools in discovering young math talents in Brazil.
Úrsula Romão, a 12-year-old student from the municipal network of Coruripe, in the interior of Alagoas, won her second gold medal in the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools, a result that placed her among young talents in Brazilian basic education.
Announced by the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics on January 30, 2026, the achievement gained additional weight because the golds in the 19th and 20th editions of OBMEP are among the first recorded in more than a decade in the municipality.
Talent in mathematics began at home
Long before the exams and ceremonies, the student’s relationship with numbers was built in the family environment, through conversations, games, mental challenges, and everyday situations reported by IMPA when presenting the trajectory of the student from Alagoas.
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Daughter of two mathematics teachers, Úrsula grew up in a house where the subject appeared naturally, not just as school content, but as part of the routine, curiosity, and way of solving small problems.
According to Darliton Romão, the student’s father, the family always sought to work with mathematics with “lightness and simplicity”, avoiding turning learning into pressure or a distant sequence of formulas and tests.
With this contact from an early age, the student began to see the subject as less distant, while family games and small domestic competitions helped to make logical reasoning part of her education.
Public school reinforced preparation for olympiads
Family encouragement was complemented by the support of Liége Gama Rocha School, a unit of the municipal network of Coruripe where Úrsula studies and participates in training aimed at knowledge olympiads.
Although interest in mathematics was already part of her routine, more consistent preparation for competitions began from the 6th grade, when the student started attending training programs more regularly.
In a report to IMPA, Úrsula stated that she always received support and participated in different preparation initiatives, an experience that expanded her contact with logic and mathematical reasoning problems beyond traditional classes.
After the first gold medal in OBMEP, the student joined the Junior Scientific Initiation Program, known as PIC Jr., an initiative aimed at medalists of the national mathematics competition.
According to OBMEP, the PIC serves medalists through a national network of teachers in centers spread across the country, with activities focused on interest in mathematics and science.
OBMEP opened new experiences for Úrsula
Participation in the olympiad also led Úrsula to experiences outside her routine in Alagoas, including attending the National Ceremony of the 19th OBMEP, held in Rio de Janeiro.
On the trip, according to IMPA, the student flew alone for the first time and also visited another region of Brazil for the first time, in an experience directly linked to the recognition obtained in the competition.
The student herself stated that the test was one of the most important in her life because “it gave me many opportunities”, a statement that summarizes the impact of the olympiad beyond the medal received.
As a result, Úrsula got closer to training programs, national ceremonies, and academic references in Brazilian mathematics, while strengthening plans related to the continuation of her studies.
Dream at IMPA Tech expands academic horizon
Among the student’s goals is to study mathematics at IMPA Tech, the undergraduate program of the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics, in Rio de Janeiro, and to pursue an academic path related to the field.
This interest appears as a continuation of a path started at home, reinforced by the municipal public school, and consolidated by her performance in one of the country’s main student competitions.
Created in 2005, OBMEP is a national project carried out by IMPA, with resources from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation, aimed at Brazilian public and private schools.
Among the official objectives of the olympiad are to stimulate the study of mathematics, identify young talents, encourage entry into universities, and promote social inclusion through the dissemination of knowledge.
In Úrsula’s journey, these objectives connect to family encouragement, the preparation offered by the school, and access to in-depth programs, without displacing the student’s protagonism and her continuous dedication.
It is also noteworthy that Coruripe, a city in the interior of Alagoas, appears on the national awards map of OBMEP through the results obtained by the municipal network student.
More than an isolated award, the two medals indicate how daily encouragement, school guidance, and institutional opportunities can broaden the academic path of public school students with high performance in mathematics.
