Daily News

Balise Supports Students in JA Stock Market Challenge

SPRINGFIELD — On Nov. 9, Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts turned the MassMutual Center’s Exhibition Hall into Wall Street for the largest one-day student stock-market event in the U.S.

Students from West Springfield High School and St. Thomas the Apostle School in West Springfield were among more than 130 student teams from 24 area schools who competed thanks to the generosity of Balise.

As a platinum sponsor of the event, Balise allowed more than 50 West Springfield youth to compete to amass the highest net worth by the end of the 60-day investment period. The catch was that each day was only 60 seconds. Just like in a real trading day, the student teams had access to tips and news that impacted the market and influenced whether they should buy or sell.

Team FYM from West Springfield High finished 15th, and Team Terriers on Main Street finished 20th. Each team increased their portfolios by more than 53%.

Alexa Napolitan from Balise had the opportunity to meet with the student teams before the opening bell rang. “Although Balise has been a sponsor of the JA Stock Market Challenge for years now, this was my first chance to be a part of the day. It was something special. The students were focused and enthusiastic from the moment the starting bell rang, and our West Springfield teams performed incredibly well. We are honored to support an event which fosters young talent and will help develop future community business owners and leaders.”

Jennifer Connolly, president of Junior Achievement of Western Massachusetts, noted that “schools like St. Thomas and West Springfield High School get to experience learning outside the classroom because of the commitment that businesses like Balise make to the community. It is a pleasure and an honor to be able to work with companies like Balise to inspire and prepare our youth to own their economic future.”