NHS student only Laredoan to earn Microsoft Office certification
Written by admin, Jun 8, 2013, Comments Off
Courtesy Roberto Treviño,
(Laredo, Tx)- Nixon High School student Ricky Perez is the first Laredo student to be certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist. Perez, who is also Nixon’s 2013 class valedictorian, is the only Laredoan to be recognized as a Microsoft Office Specialist Master by the Microsoft Corporation.
“Earning a Microsoft Office Specialist certification can help you differentiate yourself in today’s competitive job market,” said Perez. “This will help me in the job market after college. I will have an advantage over other people competing for the same job. This is my first step toward career readiness and gaining new technology skills.”
To achieve a Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification, students must pass an exam based on a Microsoft program. Certifications are available for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, OneNote, and SharePoint. To earn a Master certification, students must pass the MOS exams for Word Expert, Excel Expert, PowerPoint, and any one of Outlook, Access, OneNote, and SharePoint.
Ricardo achieved expert level Microsoft Office Specialist Master, after passing certification exams in Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Power Point, and Access and all other MOS computer applications.
As part of the Career and Technology Education (CTE) Business Information Management class at Nixon, Perez was looking for that something extra to give him a competitive advantage after high school.
“It is a great class for anyone,” said Perez. “I didn’t need the class, but it was a blessing in disguise. I encourage people to take the class, because you will need it everywhere.”
Perez was encouraged to enter the certification program by his Business Information Management teacher Mrs. Ida Rocha. “ She persuaded me until I gave in.” said Perez. “She helped me out a lot. Mrs. Rocha had a great deal of influence on me. If it was not for her I would have stopped with my basic certification.”
“Ricky is a very talented and creative student,” said Rocha. “He is very determined and competitive. It was a pleasure having him in my class. We are very proud of Ricky and he will be very successful wherever he goes.”
Perez is graduating from NHS this week with a grade point average of 105.58. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Perez. He plans to major in accounting and marketing at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, and become a certified public accountant. He hopes to earn his masters degree in business law and become the CEO or CFO of a major company.
The College Board presented Perez with the National Hispanic Scholar recognition last year for his superior score in his college entrance exams. Perez also traveled to Phoenix, Arizona, recently to represent local high schools at the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair. Perez, and two of his classmates, Alyssa Benavides and David Barrera, competed with their project entitled, “Mouse Release: A Fundamental Analysis of Musmusculus as a Model for Advanced Mammalian Altruistic Capacity.”
Perez is vice president of the Senior Class and represented NHS at state and regional competitions in debate, one-act play and extemporaneous speaking. He also competed in UIL cross examination debate, number sense, general mathematics, editorial writing, accounting, and calculus. He is a member of the Rotary Interact Club and the Sister Cities Youth Committee. He donated his time to the HEB Feast of Sharing, Casa de Misericordia, and the City of Laredo Solid Waste Department. He has spent more than 1,000 hours fundraising for his class and for improvements around the campus. Last summer he spent 126 hours volunteering with the South Texas Food Bank collecting food for the needy. He also spent 150 hours volunteering with the Boys and Girls Club offering recreational activities and supervision to children from around the community.
