Cameron LaDuke points to his name, which is inscribed on the wall of teacher Tina Steele’s classroom with the names of other students who have achieved perfect scores on various Microsoft Office certification exams.
By: Kara Szymanski | Shelby-Utica News | Published February 8, 2023
STERLING HEIGHTS/SHELBY TOWNSHIP/UTICA — A Utica Community Schools career and technical education student was recently named Michigan state champion after achieving a perfect score on the Microsoft Word certification exam.
Later this year, Cameron LaDuke, a Henry Ford II High School junior, will compete for the national championship with other expert users of Microsoft Office software.
Henry Ford II High School teacher Tina Steele, who has been teaching the Microsoft Office course for 20 years at Utica Community Schools, had never had a student score a perfect 1,000 out of 1,000 points on the Microsoft Word exam until now.
Steele said LaDuke is a student who works ahead of the class’s pace.
“So, I have deadlines set for the students but have projects open for students to work ahead. Cameron worked ahead and was very diligent about following all of the steps, interpreting directions and doing what the book is telling him to do. He very rarely needed my help; he worked through the material at his own quick pace,” she said in an email interview.
She had him take the test in November, before all the other students, and he came back with the perfect score.
Steele takes the test each year with her students in the class, and she has never gotten a perfect score, according to a UCS press release. She identified LaDuke’s determination as a key factor in his perfect score.
“It was great to see a student want to do so well. I think he has motivated other students to do well, too, which is great,” Steele stated in a UCS press release.
With the perfect score on the Microsoft Word (Office 2019) exam, LaDuke was named the Michigan state champion and next will compete in June in Certiport’s 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship in Orlando, Florida. On the line will be scholarships, prizes, the national championship and an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Championship.
LaDuke said it feels good to be state champion and have another chance to compete.
“This is the first time I’ve ever done something this big,” he said in the press release.
LaDuke said he uses Microsoft Word for writing essays and doing projects.
“I’m interested in pursuing cybersecurity after I graduate. My parents are excited — they want to go to the championship. The finalists from each state take the exam and then they get ranked. The top three get money and scholarships, and then if you are the top champion, you qualify for the world champions,” he said in an email interview.