Each year, Certiport hosts the MOS U.S. National Championship, honoring students who achieved the highest scores in their state on their Microsoft Office Specialist exams. It’s no surprise that these students go on to do amazing things, both educationally and professionally.
We shared Ashley Master’s story back in 2017, but her story certainly didn’t end there. In 2017, Ashley was a student at Kalama Mid-Senior High School in Washington state. She was working at a large, national construction company called Pacific Tech Construction, Inc as an administrative assistant, a full-time job she landed at just 15.
We caught up with Ashley to find out what’s changed in the last two years. She certainly had some exciting updates.
“It’s so great to catch up with the Certiport team again! I’ve been so busy since the first blog post was published. I’ve graduated high school and now started college. In fact, after receiving multiple job offers, this summer I completed a 13-week internship at Daimler Trucks North America in Procurement Non-Captive Majors. Simply put, my team purchases the major components that make the trucks run – engines, transmissions, axles, drivelines, clutches, etc.
“Throughout my 13-week internship, a few of my biggest projects consisted of data validation of major components and supplier analysis. How have my MOS certifications helped me throughout my internship? I can confidently say I spend a majority of my work day in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. While I learned a tremendous amount as a MOS competitor, getting real world experience has been invaluable. Without certification, I would be far behind my colleagues in these programs and would struggle to efficiently and effectively complete my work. I could not imagine starting this internship without my previous knowledge of Microsoft products that I gained through certification.
“During the school year, I also work in the Career, Advising and Tutoring Center at the College of Business at Central Washington University as an Administrative Assistant. In this part time job, I associate with professors frequently, complete data analysis in Excel, process paperwork and communicate with students.
“I’m now beginning my senior year at CWU. I will graduate at the age of 19 with a double major in Economics specializing in Managerial Economics and Business Administration specializing in Finance. I will also complete a minor in Business Analytics. I’m so excited to pursue this next stage in my career and see where my certification takes me next.”
Congratulations, Ashley! All your studying, certifications, and hard work are certainly paying off!
Interested in learning more about MOS certification? Visit www.certiport.com/MOS.