In her 20 years of teaching the Microsoft Office course at Utica Community Schools, Henry Ford II High School teacher Tina Steele has never had a student score a

 perfect score of 1,000 out of 1,000 points on the Microsoft Word exam, until now.

That perfect score was awarded to Cameron LaDuke, a Henry Ford II junior who took the exam earlier than was scheduled because he had completed the course content ahead of the rest of the class.

“Cameron is extremely diligent and is really good at interpreting the directions and what the book is telling him to do,” Steele said. “He very rarely needed my help and was able to work at his own quick pace.”

Pointing out she had never achieved a perfect score in Word after taking the test annually for over two decades with her Career and Technical Education (CTE) class, Steele attributed LaDuke’s success to his drive and self-determination.

“It was great to see a student want to do so well,” Steele said. “I think he has motivated other students to do well, too, which is great.”

Through his perfect score on the Microsoft Word (Office 2019) exam, LaDuke was named the Michigan State Champion and has been selected to compete in Certiport’s 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship in Orlando, FL this June.

At the competition, students will compete to win scholarships, prizes, trophies, certificates, the title of U.S. National Champion and an all-expenses-paid trip to the World Championship.

“It feels good to achieve this,” LaDuke said. “This is the first time I’ve ever done something this big.”

With the perfect score as his ticket, LaDuke and his family plan to represent the state of Michigan and Utica Community Schools at the 2023 National Championship.