To say Grove City College junior Matthew Hammond excels at Excel would be an understatement.
Hammond, a Business Analysis and Supply Chain Management double major from Warrenton, Va., was recently named a Pennsylvania Microsoft Excel champion after acing his certification exam.
“I never even knew there was a state champion in Excel until I received an email congratulating me for my perfect score and awarding me the title. I was shocked and honored,” Hammond said.
Mastering the software is the goal of a course Hammond took in the fall with Dr. Ryan Miller ’99, assistant professor of Business Analytics. Students in the class are required to take and pass the certification exam, something Hammond struggled with.
“I approached the exam wanting to achieve excellence. I took many practice exams provided by the class, and did not perform excellently on any of them,” he said. That motivated Hammond to study more, but he continued to fall short on the practice runs – right up to the last minute.
“I was consistently missing questions but did not know how to solve them. Hours before the exam, I finally noticed where I could review my past attempts, which revealed my biggest weaknesses. After reviewing all of those, I finally felt prepared to take the exam,” he said.
“When the exam began, I felt confident that I would get a strong score. And, as I continued, I realized that I was never stumped on a question,” Hammond said. “When I saw my score at the end of the exam, I was thrilled to see a perfect 1,000!”
Hammond, who plans to pursue a career in operations management or business analysis, said he’s passionate about business optimization and improvement.
“Excel is a fantastic tool to sort, store, and analyze data. This same data is used to understand where areas for improvement are in a company, whether for marketing, product lines, or supplier relationships. I can’t wait to apply the skills I learned in this class to the real world,” he said.
The skills Hammond demonstrated to reach the champions’ circle are exactly what employers are looking for, Miller said.
“His performance wasn’t accidental – it was the result of disciplined preparation, persistence through setbacks, and a commitment to mastery. Matthew’s achievement reflects both technical excellence and the professional work ethic that will serve him extremely well in his career,” he said.
Hammond was selected to compete against other state Excel champs in Certiport's 2026 MOS U.S. National Championship this summer, but an internship obligation makes that trip unlikely, he said.