Local high schooler wins statewide award for her stock portfolio essay
SHELLEY — With her essay detailing a future investment portfolio, a local high school senior took first place in the Idaho SIFMA Foundation’s Fall 2021 National InvestWrite® competition.
Alayna Andersen, 17, a senior at Shelley High School caught the attention of the InvestWrite® competition judges with her essay about what a future successful stock portfolio might look like. The judges were so impressed they awarded Andersen first place in Idaho.
“I totally forgot that (my essay) was in the running out of the whole state for this. So it was just kind of crazy that one of my papers won out of the whole state,” Andersen told Community Pioneer.
The InvestWrite competition, a program offered through the SIFMA Foundation, is available to students participating in The Stock Market Game. The Stock Market Game is a learning tool that allows students to manage a hypothetical $100,000 online stock portfolio. Andersen played the Stock Market Game as part of Pamela Kantack’s high school econ class during the fall 2021 semester.
“We played the market. We saw the economy crash and rise. It followed our current economy. It was really enlightening to see all the different things. You win some, you lose some, and just having the courage to look for what to invest in,” Andersen said.
In her essay, Andersen described how she witnessed the effects the COVID-19 pandemic had on the stock market. She noted how her investment in Airbnb rose as restrictions lifted and more people began traveling again. Then the stock dropped when a new COVID-19 variant began to spread.
Andersen went on to suggest various investments that she believes will continue to grow in the future.
“SIFMA Foundation congratulates Alayna on this remarkable achievement and commends her teacher and school for their commitment to financial education,” SIFMA Foundation President Melanie Mortimer said in a news release. “Having reached more than 20 million youth to date, the SIFMA Foundation ensures young people of all backgrounds are better prepared for their financial lives.”
According to the SIFMA Foundation’s website, the foundation is the SIFMA Foundation is dedicated to fostering knowledge and understanding of the financial markets for individuals of all backgrounds.
With high school graduation quickly approaching, Andersen said she is looking forward to attending Brigham Young University-Idaho in the upcoming fall semester. She plans to secondary education and become a high school teacher.
“I love history. So I think I want to go into that and maybe add social studies to it so I can teach under psychology as well,” she said.
She also had some advice for students who hope to win the essay competition in the future.
“Sometimes when writing papers about stocks, the economy, anything, it’s really easy to go into the hard facts and make it just straight like that. But I feel, if it’s not a paper that you would read, then why are you writing it? Make it something entertaining. Add other facts into it that weren’t required but add to the piece. And just use your resources,” Andersen said.
The SIFMA Foundation honored Andersen and her teacher at a surprise virtual presentation on Monday, April 11.
