Students increase financial ‘stocking’

When students around the nation hear the word “stock,” they might think about ingredients for soup or Facebook stalking; but not students at Saratoga. From the investment club to teacher Kim Anzalone’s economics class, some students are slowly becoming passionate about the economy and the stock market.

“It’s interesting to see the people on campus involved in the stock market,” said junior Vishal Goel, a member of the investment club. “Although we aren’t exactly Wall Street, it’s great to be involved at a high school level.”

The investment club meets to discuss the current market, which companies look promising and which should probably be avoided.

“Some sectors that are at the top of the market are Web 2.0 companies, and the Rare Earth Derivatives,” sophomore Sasan Saadat said. “A lot of green energy’s stocks are rising, while other old school technologies are losing money.”

Not only have students gone out and explored the market on their own time, but seniors have also participated in the stock market during their economics classes with Anzalone.

“At the beginning of the semester we set up a system where we are involved in the market,” said senior Grace Kim. “We traded computer money and had to watch which companies were smart to buy from. It was a great way to become involved.”

Kim invested in several companies to try to maximize her profits and focused on techie companies whose stocks have been rising.

“I mostly bought from Google and Apple,” said Kim. “Google definitely helped me the most because at one point there was a $100 jump and I made a lot of money off of that.”

Underclassmen are excited to learn more about the stock market in their senior year economics classes.

“I think it will be really cool to start learning about the ups and downs of the market,” said Saadat. “Right now, I guess with a lot of my purchases I have to guess, but I am really excited to learn about how to properly invest.”

Until then, Saadat can find a group that shares his interest in the investment club, which is always looking for new members.

“Our club is expanding just like the economy,” joked Goel.