Nigerian Teenager Places 3rd In Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship

Sixteen-year-old Katherine Eta from Nigeria has emerged the third place winner of the 2017 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship (MOSWC) held in Disneyland, California, USA.

Katherine, a student at Childville Secondary School in Lagos was the only African who made it to the top three in this year’s competition. The annual Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship is a global competition that tests student’s skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The competition is open to all students aged between 13 and 22 who are enrolled in an academic institution.

Speaking to reporters at Nigeria’s Murtala International Airport on arrival last Saturday from the United States, Katherine said her success was mostly down to hard work and sheer determination.

“Last year I went for the world championship and I came tenth in the world and I decided that I was going to go again this year doing a different programme, and this year because I worked harder and because I was more determined, I came third in the world,” Katherine said.

She also challenged other students to see failure as a necessary step in the process of learning.

“You shouldn’t see failure as a reason for you to quit, failure should be a reason for you to work harder to do more of what you have already done,” she said.

Katherine’s win came with a $1500 cash prize, a NuVision Solo 10 Draw Tablet at the world championship and another N750,000 from a privately owned Nigerian bank which sponsored her to the competition.

The 2017 MOSWC in versions 2013 and 2016 of the Microsoft programs was contested worldwide by about 1.1 million students from 140 countries. 157 students from 50 countries eventually qualified to compete in the world finals in Disneyland, California.

Wai Feng Cheng (Hong Kong) and Chi Kei Leong (Macao) came first and second respectively at the championship.