Princess Anne High School (PAHS) student Michelle Wu has been named the 2015 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) U.S. National Champion in Microsoft Word® 2013. The 16-year-old, rising junior earned the title among 85 other finalists at the national competition held in Orlando, Florida, June 18-20. Wu is now eligible to compete in the MOS World Championship Aug. 9-12, in Dallas, Texas.
Wu qualified for the national competition after being named a Virginia State Champion in Microsoft Word for her performance on an eligible exam taken at her high school. Rising PAHS junior Molly Sayles also qualified for and competed at the national championship as a Virginia State Champion in Microsoft PowerPoint.
According to host company Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, more than 430,000 students in the United States entered the competition from June 2014 to May 2015 to demonstrate their level of proficiency in utilizing Microsoft Office desktop computing applications.
At the MOS 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.
“Virginia Beach City Public Schools career and technical education courses and programs are second to none,” said Superintendent Aaron Spence. “This year alone, our students have passed more than 10,000 industry certification tests, providing them with workplace skills and knowledge that will be applied in college and/or future careers. Michelle’s national title reflects our commitment to workforce readiness and is a great success story. We wish her the best at the world championship.”
Of the six students representing the United States at the MOS World Championship, Wu is the only female student. She will be among more than 100 finalists from more than 30 countries, and students will again participate in a unique competition exam in their track.
Certiport will award six winners cash prizes, medals and the title of Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Excel or PowerPoint World Champion.