Brilliant Minds: Peruvian Schoolchildren Who Won Gold and Silver Medals at the Science Olympiad | We are

These stories don’t usually get all the press attention they deserve, but when they’re told to you it’s impossible not to feel instant pride. Any sporting disappointment seems trivial when knowing that there are boys and girls who struggle tirelessly, devoting long hours after school, to represent Peru in international scientific competitions and contests. This year, we witnessed several cases of school children who did not win medals in the Science Olympiad except with the support of their parents and schools.

The latest case is that of the Peruvian Astronomy and Astrophysics delegation, which has just won two gold medals and one bronze at the recent Ibero-American Olympic Games for Astronomy and Astronautics. These students are Mario Gilvonio, Fabian Sanchez And Joshua Tola, who were honored among the best students from Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Colombia and other countries. Set B is complete Valeria Acosta And David Abbadwho come from various local schools such as Prolog, San Ignacio de Loyola, and, in Joshua’s case, from the homeschool system.

This year, the Peruvian team in Poland also won some medals at the International Olympiad of Astronomy and Astrophysics, which was held in Poland, in front of young people from 52 countries. On that occasion, Mario won the silver medal and Fabian received an honorable mention. We were the only country in Latin America to gain recognition there. “Astronomy is one of the few sciences that helps answer simple and complex questions you can ask yourself, such as: why are we here or what will happen to us in the future,” says Mario, a young planetary enthusiast who is only 16 years old, and is already imagining His future as an astrophysicist, “It helps you determine how big we are, to see how small we are because it is the only form of life that we know of.” His biggest dream is to study at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology).

“Mario’s case is interesting because he comes from an area of ​​Lima with high social risks, where primary school teachers were actually happy if the boys finished high school. For them, it’s seeing him represent the country and win,” says Professor Hugo Loyo, advisor to the astronomy and astrophysics team. With awards is a double pride.” The importance of winning these awards at such a young age is that it sets the tone if teenagers want to continue their studies later. “During the twelve years that I have been advising Peruvian teams in the Science Olympiad, I have seen children say to me, ‘I want study at UNI, in San Marcos,” but then you eventually see them get scholarships in the United States. Or Russia or Japan thanks to the medals they win in these Olympic Games.

Peru has been participating in these scientific events since 1985. We started with the fields of mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, and more recently computer science. Those responsible for recruiting young people are the various scientific societies in each country, which organize national qualifiers and competitions to select their representatives. Last year, at the Ibero-American Physics Olympiad, Peru won three gold medals and one silver, distributed by the Prolog and Saco Oliveros schools. It is by far one of the best entries in our country.

Our country has also made distinguished inroads and won prizes in the Mathematics and Chemistry Olympiads, but special mention is deserved of the PAGMOO (Pan-American Women’s Mathematics Olympiad), which was held in August in Costa Rica. There are students damaris Alarcón, Camila Ochoa And Rosang Bolunfrom college Oliveros bagThey were distinguished by winning gold and bronze medals. The women’s math team is also a three-time champion. They say that in order to prepare for this competition, they can study for up to eight hours a day, while turning off their natural tastes in music, soap operas and drama. These girls confirm that the reward is worth the effort, and they already envision a future as successful engineers, programmers, and professionals. For them, the sky is the limit. //