Certiport News

Certiport Names Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Champions

Best in U.S. in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint Advance to World Championship

Orlando, FLORIDA – July 6, 2016

Certiport (www.certiport.com), a Pearson VUE business, the leading test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, today announces the 2016 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) U.S. National Champions. The winners topped over 300,000 total entrants and 108 finalists at the MOS U.S. National Championship event in Orlando, Florida and the first place champions will return for the MOS World Championship from August 7 – 10, 2016.

Students age 13 to 22 were eligible to participate in one of six competition tracks by submitting a qualified, passing score on any of the following exams: Microsoft Office Specialist Word® (2013 or 2010), Microsoft Office Specialist Excel® (2013 or 2010), and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint® (2013 or 2010). First place winners will receive a $3,000 cash prize, second place $1500 and third place $750.

The MOS U.S. Champions are as follows:

MOS Word 2013

  • First place, Nick O’Donnell, Belgrade High School, Montana
  • Second place, Ezra Skwarka, Greeneville High School, Tennessee
  • Third place, Travis Stanger, Davenport Central High School, Iowa

MOS Excel 2013

  • First place, Michael Kelly, Papillion – La Vista South High School, Nebraska
  • Second place, Joshua Ani, Chamblee Charter High School, Georgia
  • Third place, Ben Galusha, Seward High School, Nebraska

MOS PowerPoint 2013

  • First place, Ryan Catalfu, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
  • Second place, Joshua Garrelts, Eisenhower High School, Kansas
  • Third place, Nathaniel Epstein, Suncoast Polytechnical High School, Florida

MOS Word 2010

  • First place, Anthony Malabad, Turner Ashby High School, Virginiaa
  • Second place, Robert Westcott, Princess Anne High School, Virginia
  • Third place, Emma Dalbo, Green Hope High School, North Carolina

MOS Excel 2010

  • First place, Skyler Won, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
  • Second place, Erica Sandlin, Walton Verona High School, Kentucky
  • Third place, Kenneth Stuckey, Buchanan High School, Michigan

MOS PowerPoint 2010

  • First place, William Silva, Bristol Plymouth Regional Technical High School, Massachusetts
  • Second place, Anthony Reis, Green Hope High School, North Carolina
  • Third place, Griffin Murray, Lancaster High School, New York

From June 2015 to May 2016, more than 300,000 students entered exams to compete in the MOS U.S. National Championship to demonstrate their level of proficiency in utilizing the world’s foremost desktop computing applications. During the qualifying round they entered a passing score on an eligible MOS exam and 108 finalists with the best scores and exam times took a unique competition exam in their track at the MOS U.S. National Championship.

Finalists were given a printed copy of a document, spreadsheet or presentation to recreate along with printed instructions and digital assets. They were 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 2016 MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida.

"This year we saw a 25 percent growth in participation in the MOS U.S. National Championship as we encouraged all 50 states to participate in both Fall and Spring qualifiers,” said Aaron Osmond, general manager, Certiport. “Students and teachers all over the country have caught the fire of this competition. They understand that not only is it a lot of fun, it builds resumes and helps these kids hit the ground running in college and in their career.”

Certiport anticipates more than 150 finalists from more than 30 countries 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.

About Certiport

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.

Press Contact:
Allison Yrungaray
Certiport
1.626.841.1640
allison.yrungaray@pearson.com