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, FL – June 22, 2015

Certiport (www.certiport.com), a Pearson VUE business, the leading test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, today announces the 2015 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) U.S. National Champions. The winners were named at the U.S. National Championship event in Orlando, Florida and the first place champions will travel to Dallas, Texas to compete in the MOS World Championshipfrom August 9-12, 2015.

The U.S. winners are as follows

Microsoft Word® 2013

  • First place, Michelle Wu, Virginia Beach, Virginia
  • Second place, Shayla Miller, Nashville, Arkansas
  • Third place, Brooke Lampe, Lincoln, Nebraska

Microsoft Excel® 2013

  • First place, Joseph Halikos, Shelby Township, Michigan
  • Second place, Ryan Decker, Orem, Utah
  • Third place, Thomas Lin, Columbus, Georgia

Microsoft PowerPoint® 2013

    First place, Andrew Parker, Goddard, Kansas
  • Second place, Bennett Hunter, Lehigh Acres, Florida
  • Third place, Max Fuhrman, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Microsoft Word® 2010

  • First place, Ryan Catalfu, Cary, North Carolina
  • Second place, Tyler Millis, Fort Myers, Florida
  • Third place, David Fuerst, Bristow, Virginia

Microsoft Excel® 2010

  • First place, Ian Sexton, Fort Myers, Florida
  • Second place, Adam Duncan, Fairfax, Iowa
  • Third place, Ali Khan, Cary, North Carolina

Microsoft PowerPoint® 2010

  • First place, Samuel Li, Sanford, Florida
  • Second place, Andrew Dutton, Walla Walla, Washington
  • Third place, Katie Tomasi, Cary, North Carolina

From June 2014 to May 2015, more than 430,000 students in the United States entered the competition 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 86 finalists with the best scores and exam times were invited to participate in 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 an all-expense-paid trip to participate in the 2015 MOS World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

"This competition has grown immensely in the last few years as students around the country have realized the value of earning MOS certification to prepare for success in college and careers," said Aaron Osmond, vice president of the global Certiport offering for Pearson VUE. "These six champions have proven their superior knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, and we wish them the best as they compete at the World Championship."

Certiport anticipates more than 100 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 13,000 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 HP Accredited Technical Associate, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, 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 more than 148 countries and 27 languages worldwide. For more information, please visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.

"Certiport" and "IC3" 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. Adobe, Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.

Press Contact:
Allison Yrungaray
Certiport
1.626.841.1640
allison@noticepr.com