ATLANTA - June 20, 2018
The winners of the 2018 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship have been announced by Certiport, the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners.
The champions topped 147 finalists at the event in Atlanta, Georgia. The first-place winners will now head to Orlando, Florida for the MOS World Championship from July 29 – August 1, 2018.
Students from 13 to 22 years old participated in one of six competition tracks by submitting a qualified, passing score on any of the following exams: Microsoft Office Specialist Word® (2016 or 2013), Microsoft Office Specialist Excel® (2016 or 2013), and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint® (2016 or 2013). First place winners received a $3,000 cash prize, second place $1500 and third place $750.
The MOS U.S. National Champions are as follows:
MOS Word 2016
First place, Aydan Soto, Osceola Fundamental High School, Florida
Second place, Alexis Deynes, Princess Anne High School, Virginia
Third place, Elizabeth Sandlin, Walton-Verona High School, Kentucky
MOS Excel 2016
First place, Kevin Dimaculangan, Dunbar High School, Florida
Second place, Stephanie Chudy, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Third place, Forrest Liu, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
MOS PowerPoint 2016
First place, Linh Nguyen, Auburn Mountainview High School, Washington
Second place, Ethan Gilmore, Pine View Middle School, Utah
Third place, Ashwin Prasad, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
MOS Word 2013
First place, Jesse Ssengonzi, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
Second place, Landon Laviolette, Breaux Bridge High School, Louisiana
Third place, Bailey Griffin, Lake Stevens High School, Washington
MOS Excel 2013
First place, Jason Benda, Sun Prarie High School, Wisconsin
Second place, Joseph Litz, Princess Anne High School, Virginia
Third place, Edward John Legaspi, Georgia Southern University, Georgia
MOS PowerPoint 2013
First place, Cameron Pillatsch, Princess Anne High School, Virginia
Second place, Cole Stranahan, Sanford Middle School, Florida
Third place, Haley Grace Boan, Bleckley County High School, Georgia
Scoring higher than more than 350,000 students from all over the U.S. who entered a passing score on an eligible MOS Exam in the qualifying round, 147 finalists were given a printed copy of a document, spreadsheet or presentation to recreate along with printed instructions and digital assets. They were then scored according to the accuracy of the recreation compared to the original. The champions in each program, along with a chaperone, have won a trip to participate in the 2018 MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida.
"We’re so impressed by all of these students – they’ve proven they can use Microsoft Office tools effectively which will be a key to successful academic and career pursuits,” said Raymond Murray, Vice President, Business Development, Pearson VUE. “Our goal is to turn these students from learners to earners, and many of them go on to win internships and jobs as a result of proving their skills in Microsoft Office.”
Certiport anticipates more than 150 finalists from more than 30 countries will compete at the MOS World Championship where students will again participate in a unique competition exam in their track. Six winners will receive cash prizes, medals and the title of Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Excel or PowerPoint World Champion.
Professional photos of the event can be found here. Links to download winner interviews can be found here.
Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 14,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Technology Associate certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the Autodesk Certified User and Autodesk Certified Professional certification programs, the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User certification program, and the IC3 Digital Literacy certification. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in 148 countries and 26 languages worldwide. For more information, www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.
"Certiport" and "MOS" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.