By Zach Hester, Art Director • zach@southerntorch.com 

GERALDINE, Ala. — Many of us around the State of Alabama are accustomed to winning national championships for football, but thanks to a recent graduate of Geraldine High School, the National Champion for Microsoft Office Specialist in PowerPoint now hails from our community, too. 

Earlier this month, 18-year-old Seth Maddox defeated 146 fellow contenders who were invited to the competition to win the Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint National Championship. 

When asked why he entered the competition, Maddox stated, “I’m a technology guy myself. I like computers. I like Microsoft Office. It was just a good fit for me.” 

The competition, which welcomed more than 300,000 students ages 13 to 22 from across the United States, has six different fields that may be entered by submitting a passing score on any of the following exams: Microsoft Word (2013 or 2016), Microsoft Excel (2013 or 2016) or Microsoft Office PowerPoint (2013 or 2016). 

Maddox’s winnings include a $3,000 scholarship and a trip to the World Championship in New York City, which will be held next month.