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Miriam Adrielly’s journey shows how a choice made at 15 changed her relationship with studies: with family support, access to a computer, and online preparation, the student advanced in a national math competition to win medals in public school.
She chose to study.
Instead of the traditional 15th birthday party with a venue, dress, and guests, a teenager from the interior of Paraíba made a different request to her family. She wanted a laptop and an online course. It wasn’t a whim or a trend. It was a concrete attempt to study better for OBMEP, the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools.
The choice seemed small to outsiders. But for Miriam Adrielly Silva de Brito, then a 9th-grade public school student, that gift had a different weight. It was the tool that could bring her closer to a goal that had already begun to change her routine: winning a medal in one of the country’s largest student competitions.
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The birthday that became a turning point
Adrielly turned 15 on September 21, 2022. According to IMPA, the institute responsible for OBMEP, her parents asked if she wanted a party or a trip. The answer was surprising: she preferred to invest in her studies.
Even so, the family prepared a surprise celebration for about 15 family members. The theme was not princess, celebrity, or party. It was OBMEP itself, with a personalized cake and an encouraging atmosphere.
Behind that simple scene was an unusual decision. The student had received an honorable mention in the 16th edition of the Olympiad and realized she could go further. The result wasn’t a medal, but it served as a sign. She understood that with preparation, she could truly compete.
When mathematics stopped being improvised
Before, Adrielly told IMPA that she advanced to the second phase without knowing exactly the scale of OBMEP. After the honorable mention, her relationship with mathematics changed.
In 2022, the preparation gained a method. She began studying past exams, following the online course, and tackling the question bank. It wasn’t a glamorous routine. It was repetition, trial, error, and persistence.
The difficulty was not just in the content. Studying for a science olympiad requires time, guidance, and access to materials. For many public school students, this gap begins even before the exam. There’s a lack of computers, quality internet, and someone telling them that this competition is also for them.
In Adrielly’s case, the laptop became a bridge. The online course became direction. And the family’s decision turned the birthday into an investment.
The bronze came first
The effort showed in the 17th OBMEP. Adrielly won a bronze medal, a result confirmed in the official list of olympiad winners. That year, the competition had reached 18.1 million students in the first phase, according to IMPA.
The number helps to understand the magnitude of the achievement. It was not a small test, limited to a few schools. The OBMEP reached over 54,000 institutions and almost all Brazilian municipalities in that edition.
For a student from Conceição, in the interior of Paraíba, appearing among the national medalists meant more than a certificate. It was proof that the choice made on her birthday had produced a real consequence.
The story didn’t stop at the first medal
The strongest detail of this journey came later. Adrielly didn’t stop at bronze.
In the 18th OBMEP, already a student at EEEFM Maestro José Siqueira, in Conceição, she appeared on the official list with a silver medal. In the 19th edition, she won silver again, also recorded in the national awards.
The journey gained new weight in the 20th OBMEP 2025. The official list of public school awardees recorded Miriam Adrielly Silva de Brito with a gold medal.
The sequence shows a rare transformation: honorable mention, bronze, silver, silver, and gold. It was not an isolated result, nor a story of luck. It was continuity.
A simple gift revealed a greater opportunity
Adrielly’s story draws attention because it starts with a common choice in the lives of many families: how to mark a daughter’s 15th birthday. But the outcome reveals something greater.
When a public school student chooses a study tool over a party and manages to advance in a national olympiad, the case becomes more than just a nice curiosity. It shows the impact that access, family encouragement, and opportunity can have when they arrive at the right moment.
The notebook didn’t win the medal alone. The course didn’t replace the effort. But both paved the way for a teenager from the interior of Paraíba to turn a birthday decision into a path of bronze, silver, and gold.
