State Treasurer David Damschen to recognize 32 Utah students and teachers for winning statewide financial education competition
SALT LAKE CITY – January 3, 2019 – Students, teachers, government officials and local business leaders will celebrate the 32 winning students and teachers of The Stock Market Game™ fall 2018 statewide competition during an awards banquet on January 4. The banquet, hosted by Utah State Treasurer David Damschen, will feature student speeches, information about the competition and opportunities to learn more about financial responsibility.
Northridge High School student Alexis Aguirre’s team placed first in the high school division. “My favorite part of the game was getting an opportunity to invest into a real-time market simulation – getting to see if the decisions we made would make or lose us money,” she said. “We learned how society plays a key factor to investing, how to invest during a bullish market, deciding when was the right time to buy and sell a stock and competing against a lot of other high schoolers.”
The winning team in the elementary division based some of their most significant investment decisions on the news, which helped them claim their victory. “Our favorite parts of the Stock Market Game were the tension and the competition of the last few weeks, as we climbed up the rankings and passed the previous first place team in the last few days of the competition,” Nibley Elementary students MaCade Brown, Kaid Johnson and Brooklyn Bishop said. “We also improved our teamwork and decision-making skills. It was hard to decide on whether or not to sell our stocks. We had a terrific time learning about companies and how and why they are traded on the stock market.”
The Utah Office of State Treasurer recently assumed the responsibility of administering the game from the Utah Division of Securities. Complementary to this new charge, Treasurer Damschen chairs the Utah Council on Financial and Economic Education, an organization comprised of more than 50 private and public entities that share a common mission to increase the financial capability of Utahns.
“A primary objective of the Utah Council on Financial and Economic Education is to advocate for and strengthen financial education in Utah schools. The Stock Market Game piques student interest in some of the important concepts taught in the classroom by adding an element of competition,” Treasurer Damschen said. “I appreciate the incredible efforts of teachers and students to improve financial knowledge and look forward to the opportunity to celebrate their success.”
The awards banquet will be held at noon in the Wasatch Room on the 10th floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. The ceremony will begin at 12:35 p.m. This event is open to the media. Due to capacity limitations, other guests may attend by invitation only.
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