Tenth Grader McKinley Ebert Places 7th Nationally in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring2024 National InvestWrite® Competition
- 2024-2025
- Awards
- District Wide
- Hershey High School
Tenth Grader McKinley Ebert Places 7th Nationally in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring2024 National InvestWrite® Competition
New York, NY, August 14, 2024 – Echoing the immortal words of Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it’s done,” McKinley Ebert defied the odds by creating a high-powered investment portfolio that could make Wall Street proud. Currently enrolled in 10th grade at Hershey High School in Hershey, PA, McKinley developed a diversified investment portfolio aimed at securing long-term financial success.
McKinley’s investment strategy placed her 7th in the nation in the SIFMA Foundation’s Spring 2024 InvestWrite competition. McKinley triumphed among thousands of participants nationwide for her astute insights into the dynamics of capital markets in the high school division. In recognition of her accomplishment, McKinley and her teacher, Michael Gustantino, were honored by the SIFMA Foundation during a special ceremony.
The SIFMA Foundation’s InvestWrite national essay competition serves as a vital bridge between classroom education in mathematics, social studies, language arts, and the practical application of research and knowledge essential for saving, investing, and long-term financial planning. The competition is a culminating activity for the acclaimed Stock Market Game™, a curriculum-based financial education program challenging students to manage a hypothetical $100,000 online portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash. InvestWrite empowers students to apply their hands-on learning in real-world scenarios that teach the fundamentals of investing.
SIFMA Foundation’s programs are proven to enhance participants’ test scores in math and economics, foster financial planning skills, promote teamwork and interpersonal social-emotional learning, and better prepare students for future academic and professional endeavors. With a steadfast commitment to closing opportunity gaps in society, the SIFMA Foundation equips young people from all backgrounds, with a particular focus on underserved youth, with a robust understanding of financial markets.
A number of studies have emphasized the critical need for financial education to navigate today’s complex economic landscape. Investing in financial education yields long-term benefits, both for individuals and for society as a whole, by fostering economic stability and reducing financial vulnerabilities, according to Financial Literacy and Financial Education, a recent study by Tim Kaiser and Annamaria Lusardi. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive and accessible educational programs from an early age. SIFMA Foundation’s programs are leading the way in reaching and engaging youth and their teachers and families.
“It brings me immense joy to extend my heartfelt congratulations to McKinley and her teacher for a remarkable achievement in InvestWrite,” said Melanie Mortimer, President of the SIFMA Foundation. “McKinley’s essay details a very thoughtful and compelling plan for long-term financial independence. Her achievement signals the value of early financial education in setting youth on a path to positive financial life outcomes.”
The Stock Market Game and InvestWrite are offered in Pennsylvania through the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education. “FFEE is thrilled to be involved with this wonderful program that helps Pennsylvania students better understand our economy, capital markets, the role of investors, and how to build a secure financial future,” said Karen Musante, President & CEO of the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education. “It not only will pay dividends for students and their educators, but also for the future of our state. We are honored to be able to recognize and congratulate the achievement of a student from Hershey High School.”
Thousands of volunteer financial professionals from hundreds of financial firms select the winners of InvestWrite each year. McKinley captivated this panel of expert judges with a compelling and insightful essay.
Winning Essay
The stock market has a hard to define fluctuation of values that can never be truly predicted. However, through the use of endless, tedious research and data, one can begin to achieve an understanding of what to expect in such an unpredictable market. During my time learning more about the market and all of its intricacies, I began to discover patterns and foundational rules that have led me to financial success.
The best performing stock I invested in was buying a multitude of Dell knowing it would be releasing its quarterly earnings soon. After watching NVIDIA’s stock steadily rise in valuation, I figured other AI stocks were something to look into. After a bit of research, I identified what exactly Dell Corporation had spent its last period investing and working towards and was excited to find a lot of it revolved around AI. Knowing this, I didn’t want to miss the chance that its earnings and valuations would jump after its release. I was not disappointed as its value increased by 30% the day after release, making me thousands of dollars in the process.
Now that I am aware of how easily a good investment can change a life, I chose to set a goal of moving into my own home by 2030. Six years from now, I will have graduated college and set my sights on establishing a secure career and family life. For me, my first action would be to finally stand on my own two feet and take control of my financial life. This would begin by physically separating from the safety of my parents and taking on a new world by myself. With the help of a few good investments, I would be able to rent or buy a place in which I can absorb independence.
The first investment I will choose is to buy 100 long-term stocks of Micron Technology, Inc for a total of $11,800. I had the chance to buy this stock during the Stock Market Game and watched its explosion of growth. With additional research, I discovered that MU’s earnings are expected to grow 93% for this fiscal year. As revisions continue for this stock, I will continue to earn a steady flow of money. The second stock I will be investing in is one I believe will follow the momentum method. I chose to buy 1000 stocks of Barclays for a total of $9280 because I believe its trend upwards will continue. Shares of Barclays have been increasing for months and don’t show any signs of slowing. For instance, Barclays has gained 40.75% in the last year and 18.63% over the last quarter. In comparison, the S&P 500 increased 32.56% and 10.82%, respectively. The last stock I will invest in is Inspire Medical Systems, Inc., which I will acquire 19 stocks of for a total of $3920. This company is in the lower half of its 52-week range and is slowly making a comeback. It beat its last earnings projection by a large amount and is expected to do the same in April. For these reasons, I believe I can make a large profit in the coming months.
Through these investments and my continuous growth in knowledge of the Stock Market Game, I believe I will have a secure financial future by the time this decade ends. Making these smart decisions now will allow me to have a second avenue to make money, thus letting me establish an independent lifestyle including following my passions in whatever career path I take. In this sense the steps I take to become comfortable with investing and the stock market now will pay off in ways I can hardly dream about in the future. Whether it be buying my own house or simply saving for retirement, the stock market is an indisputable asset for making money.
About the SIFMA Foundation
The SIFMA Foundation is committed to closing the opportunity gap by fostering greater knowledge of the financial markets for young people of all backgrounds. Drawing on the support and expertise of educators and the financial industry, the Foundation provides financial education to strengthen economic opportunity across communities and increase awareness of the benefits of the global marketplace. Since 1977, the Foundation’s flagship program, The Stock Market Game™, has guided more than 22 million students on their path to financial independence by attaining stronger life skills, improving academic achievement, and boosting their social-emotional learning. For more information on the SIFMA Foundation, visit www.sifma.org/foundation.
About InvestWrite®
InvestWrite® is a culminating activity for Stock Market Game students extending their classroom learning with a written challenge to address real-world financial issues and situations. Students must analyze, think critically and problem solve about a long-term saving and investing scenario. More than 275,000 student essays have been evaluated by their teachers and over 50,000 financial professionals have served as volunteer judges. Essays are judged by financial professionals who volunteer their time each year to ensure young people are exposed to the essentials of personal finance early in life. Judges evaluate students’ understanding of long-term investing, diversification, the global capital markets, and factors that drive investments as well as their expression of investment ideas in essay form. Winners locally and nationally rise to the top to earn exciting awards including laptops, classroom pizza parties, trophies, plaques and banners, and certificates.
For more information about InvestWrite®, visit www.investwrite.org.
About the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education
The Foundation for Free Enterprise Education exists to provide young Pennsylvanians relevant, impactful education and skills that help them explore, create and sustain successful careers and lives that ultimately strengthen our communities and state. For more information, visit: www.pfew.org.