Virginia Students Win First and Second Place Prizes in National Microsoft Championships
RICHMOND — Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow today congratulated two Virginia winners in last month’s 2022 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship competition in Dallas.
Wendy Zheng, a student at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, won first place and a $3,000 prize in the Microsoft Excel category by earning passing scores on the Microsoft 365 Apps and Microsoft Office 2019 certification exams. Zeng now has the opportunity to participate in the July 24-27 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Anaheim, California.
Justin Henley, a student at New Kent High School in New Kent County, placed second and earned a $1,500 prize in the Microsoft Word category with a passing score on the Microsoft Office 2016 certification exam.
“I congratulate both of these career-ready Virginia students for their accomplishments during this rigorous national competition,” Balow said. “I also congratulate the teachers and mentors who have encouraged and challenged them along the way.”
Zheng and Henley were among 85 state finalists from across the country who participated in the June 20-22 competition.
In 2017, John Dumoulin, a former student from Forest Park High School in Prince William County, became the first American to win the World Championship Excel trophy at the Microsoft World Championship.
The Microsoft Office Specialist program is presented by Certiport, a Pearson VUE business and provider of performance-based IT certification exams.
