CTE Student is First Ever from US to Earn Title
John Dumoulin, a student at Forest Park High School in Prince William County, became the first American to ever take home the World Championship Excel trophy at the recent Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California. In winning, he competed against 156 other finalists from 49 countries.
As a student at Forest Park High, Dumoulin was enrolled in a number of Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses as well as the Microsoft Imagine Academy. He earned nine Board of Education-approved credentials — eight Microsoft Office Specialist certifications and the Working in Support of Education (WISE) financial literacy.
The Virginia Department of Education has provided access to the Microsoft Imagine Academy to 365 participating high schools and CTE Centers across the commonwealth.
“It is exciting to see that the workforce skills learned in Virginia classrooms can pay such dividends,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Steven R. Staples said. “John’s outstanding accomplishments are an excellent reminder of the importance of insuring that all of Virginia’s students are ready for career opportunities in their future.”
In addition to being named a world champion, Dumoulin received a check for $7,000. The 17-year-old is a varsity baseball player and a member of the Future Business Leaders of America at his high school. Earlier this summer, Dumoulin competed at the national competition in Orlando, Florida, which earned him $3,000 and all-expense paid trip to California for the world competition that was held July 31-August 2.
Regional competitions this year attracted more than 560,000 candidates from 122 countries who took exams to demonstrate their Microsoft mastery. During the World Championship, finalists demonstrated their ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations using project-based tests.
The Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship was hosted by Certiport and endorsed by Microsoft. In previous years, Excel Champions have come from Nepal, China, Macau, Brazil, Peru, Singapore and Hong Kong.
-Submitted by Charles B. Pyle, Director of Communications