EDINBURGH, IN March 6, 2026
The Office Administration (OA) trade at Atterbury Job Corps Center is once again in the spotlight after multiple students placed in the Top Ten in the state of Indiana in Microsoft testing, with one student taking the State Championship in PowerPoint AND Excel in the 2025 Microsoft Office Specialist State Championship. Mason Affolder Etchison scored a perfect 1000/1000 and had time to spare on each of the fifty-minute exams.

Mason took his PowerPoint exam in August 2024 and his Excel exam just two months later, in October 2024.
The OA instructor at Atterbury, Ms. Kerri Alford, keeps a spreadsheet with student scores and knew Mason
stood a good chance of placing highly in the statewide competition; she had a student win the state championship last year with a lower score. In December, Certiport released the names of the schools with the top three scores for each exam track and the class was notified of their collective success. Ms. Alford and her students waited to hear who the finalists were, but due to a glitch in the system, names and awards were not emailed out for several weeks. Finally, after a long wait, individual names were released and it was confirmed Mason had won both exam track awards. State winners also received their formal invitations to compete in the Microsoft Office national competition held this year in June in Dallas, Texas.

Three other Atterbury Job Corps students placed in the Top Ten in Microsoft Excel: Laela Slater took home
the tenth spot, while Lorenzo Carthell took fourth. In PowerPoint, six of the top ten spots in the state were taken by Atterbury students: Jahiem Williams took ninth place, Corielle Moore took seventh, Kalos David took fourth, Chris Ball took third, and Sienna West took second.

Microsoft testing through Certiport is administered at numerous places throughout the state, from high schools
to vocational schools to colleges. Each of the tests are project-based, requiring the test-taker to complete a certain number of tasks in numerous projects. The testing covers basic concepts all the way up through advanced features of each of the programs, but students in the OA program prepare using online tools, pre-tests, and in-class group study sessions to be so successful. Mason has since become a class leader and project manager, helping students understand some of the trickier components of both Microsoft and Excel.

   
Pictured: Kerri Alford, OA Instructor at Atterbury Job Corps and Mason Affolder-Etchison.

Atterbury Job Corps is a federally-funded program that helps eligible youth ages 16 to 24 complete their high school education, train for meaningful careers in various trades, and obtain employment. For more information, please contact Debi Stanton, Business Engagement Manager for Atterbury & IndyPendence Job Corps at Stanton.Debra@jobcorps.org or call 812-314-6090.