Albany High takes third in Stock Market Challenge

Aspiring financiers from Albany High School took third place on Wednesday at the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge.

Junior Akili Bahati, senior Nailia Pumbaya and senior Mohammed Yehia (pictured at right from left to right) finished as Albany High's top team. Theirs was one of 10 Albany High teams at the event, which drew more than 400 students from 19 area schools; Albany High had three teams place in the top 10.

Teams competed in a race to accumulate the highest portfolio while learning the nuances of investing, trading, strategy, why companies issue stock, how actions in one place of the world impact the value of stock in another place, and why the stock market is an integral part of our free enterprise system.

Each team began the game with $1 million trading dollars to invest in fictitious stock. Once the trading began, every 60 seconds was a new trading day in a volatile market. Floor traders entered the team trades into handheld computers and the information was immediately transferred to big screens for all participants to see.

Players tracked their stock portfolio and their team’s standings on three massive screens, and teams bought and sold stocks from “traders” that instantly sent trades to the system. Teams traded for two-thirty minute periods.

Albany High’s Bahati, Pumbaya and Yehia finished with the third-highest worth. They earned a trophy and each took home $50 gift cards.

The Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge was held at the University at Albany, which sponsored the event along with SEFCU.

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The mission of the City School District of Albany is to educate and prepare all students for college and career, citizenship and life, in partnership with our diverse community. The district serves approximately 9,500 students in 18 elementary, middle and high schools. In addition to neighborhood schools, the district includes several magnet schools and programs, as well as other innovative academic opportunities for students, including four themed academies at Albany High School.