Memorial High School’s AP macroeconomics students have achieved significant success in a statewide Stock Market Game competition. The students secured both first and second place among 186 participating teams, earning them cash prizes, certificates, and valuable insights into investing.
The competition involved managing a virtual investment portfolio with an initial fictional fund of $100,000 over ten weeks. Students worked collaboratively to research and evaluate real-world stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, making decisions on buying, selling, or holding these assets.
Chad Amini, a social studies teacher at Memorial High School who has been involving his students in this competition for over a decade as part of the AP macroeconomics class curriculum, commented on the educational benefits: “Outside of learning about the stock market, it teaches collaboration and teamwork,” he said. “While the game is a simulation, it does give students a real interest in investing on their own.”
The first-place team members—Max Garduno-Alva, Nathan Justman, Rubin Pantha, Benson Yang, and Simon Rozeski—each received $500. The second-place team included Atticus Jaskunas, Jason Li, William Li, and Kevin Portillo.
Nathan Justman expressed how engaging it was to apply classroom knowledge to practical scenarios: “It became fun to really get into it and try out different strategies,” he said. “We pretty much did it all: buy low, sell high; buy quick; sell quick; go big or go home; and just followed patterns.”
Both teams emphasized the importance of tracking stock value charts for analyzing potential investments. Simon Rozeski focused on company momentum as an indicator for buying opportunities or warning signs of impending declines.
Reflecting on the impact of this experience on his students’ career interests in economy and finance fields, Amini noted: “I’ve had kids say they’re interested in going into economy and finance which is absolutely cool to hear as a teacher,” adding that seeing the tangible results is rewarding for everyone involved.
