“At my high school, I took an InfoTech class there, so I figured out what certification was,” said Riffel in a post-competition interview. “I realized I could do this pretty well. I got certified twice and then I qualified for the competition.”
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Across the United States, more than 365,000 students ages 13-22 entered one of the six competitions by submitting a qualified, passing score on any of the following exams: Microsoft Office Specialist Word (2016 or 2013), Microsoft Office Specialist Excel (2016 or 2013), and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint (2016 or 2013).
Finalists were given a printed copy of a document, spreadsheet or presentation to recreate along with printed instructions and digital assets. They were then 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 2019 MOS World Championship in New York City, where they will compete with more than 150 other finalists from 40 countries.
Riffel will attend Ohio State University in the fall, majoring in computer engineering. He also has an internship at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base through the Wright Scholar Program.
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“Through this internship I’ll be learning to develop programs and creating 3D simulations, which will be teaching me a lot,” Riffel said.
He participates in Destination Imagination, competed at the Global Finals, and was named their 2019 Graduate of the Year as well.
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