SHU Student Earns Seat at June’s Microsoft Championship

Emily Crispino and two fellow SHU students took the top three places in state competition

Emily Crispino ’21, a student in Sacred Heart University’s Jack Welch College of Business & Technology (WCBT), will compete at the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) 2021 National Championship in Orlando, FL in June. Crispino earned the opportunity after taking first place in Certiport’s Microsoft Excel (Office 2016) category at the state level last fall.

As first-place winner, Crispino received an invitation to participate in the MOS 2021 National Championship in the same category. Two of her fellow Pioneers also achieved impressive outcomes at the state level: Allan Zilnicki ’21 came in second, and Nicholas Fierro ’21 ranked third.

“Emily, Allan and Nick are all dedicated and talented students,” said Bridget Lyons, professor of finance in the WCBT. “They worked hard to master Excel and performed very well on the test to garner all three spots.” 

“I pursued the Excel certification as part of my accounting education and to gain knowledge and experience that will help me in my future career,” said Crispino. “I enjoyed learning the material and was excited to receive the highest score on the exam. Thank you to Professor Lyons for providing me with the resources to perform well.”

Crispino attended the WCBT’s Excel for business class, and Zilnicki and Fierro attended corporate finance. Both classes incorporate Microsoft Excel, and students take the Microsoft Excel certification exam, which automatically enrolls them in the MOS state championship. Students prepared for the exam with GMetrix, a test preparation software. 

Winners at the national championship will received $3,000, a trophy, a medal of achievement, a winner’s certificate and an all-expense paid trip to MOS 2021 World Championship, also in Orlando, in August.

Pictured, from left, are Emily Crispino, Allan Zilnicki and Nick Fierro.