IMPA Tech student wins 46 medals in knowledge Olympiads

27/06/2024

Gabriely di Folco Rocha, 17, is from São José dos Campos (SP) and has always identified with mathematics. “It was where I found myself and was able to communicate with people as a child,” she says. Encouraged by her parents, the student has accumulated 46 medals in scientific Olympiads in different disciplines, and has gone on to some of the best universities in the world. Get to know the story of the IMPA Tech graduate at #AlémDasEquações.

From the 6th grade onwards, Gabriely won a scholarship at the Alpha Lumen Institute, where she came into contact with the OBMEP (Brazilian Public Schools Olympics) and studied until she finished high school. Alongside the traditional course, she also did a modular technical course in industrial automation at ETEC (Escola Técnica Estadual Professora Ilza Nascimento Pintus).

Her interest in multidisciplinary studies was one of the factors that made her final choice of degree course difficult. “I was easily interested in areas that didn’t seem to talk to each other very much. For a long time, I thought I would do a degree in the humanities, mainly because I was annoyed by the lack of social engagement in the exact sciences,” she said.

However, it was the lack of representation that motivated Gabriely. “I didn’t always know I wanted to study mathematics, but I knew I wanted to go into research. The lack of diversity in the awards and in the more advanced stages of the Olympiads bothered me. For a while I was disgusted, but then I realized that it would make sense to take that place and, who knows, make room for more girls in the exact sciences,” she said.

But before arriving at IMPA’s graduate program, the student took part in the institute’s summer course on mathematical analysis, where she got to know the discipline as a research area and became even more fascinated.

At the beginning of 2024, Gabriely began studying Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computing at USP (University of São Paulo) in São Carlos, where she stayed for two months until she passed the IMPA Tech selection process.

In addition, the student passed the selection process at other world-renowned universities, such as Unicamp (State University of Campinas), University of Michigan (USA) and Duke Kunshan, a joint venture between Duke University (USA) and Wuhan University (China).

The choice wasn’t easy, but despite the options, Gabriely is happy with her decision. “I chose IMPA Tech because IMPA is a prestigious institution and I want to be a researcher. The undergraduate connection with the renowned researchers, who are very important for the Brazilian scene, was crucial. In addition, the student retention policies were attractive. I weighed up what I wanted for my future and I’m happy,” she said.

Now, after three months of classes, the experience is paying off. “I’ve really enjoyed my degree. The practical classes pay special attention to our daily lives here. I can see the teachers taking care to stimulate our learning. That’s very important,” he added.

IMPA Tech’s accommodation was also important for the student’s stay in Rio de Janeiro. “I was very lucky with my roommate. She’s amazing and we hit it off. It’s really nice to live with other people you know and share goals with,” she said.

After graduating, Gabriely hopes to pursue an academic career. “I want to do my master’s and doctorate abroad, but I want to come back to be a teacher and researcher here in Brazil,” she concluded.

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