Jamestown, Hamburg, and St. Francis High School students take Top Honors in Junior Achievement’s Fall Virtual Stock Market Challenge

News Release
December 13, 2023

For more information, contact:
Alycia Ivancie
Program Director
716-853-1381, ext. 215
aivancie@jawny.org

Jamestown, Hamburg, and St. Francis High School students take Top Honors in Junior Achievement’s Fall Virtual Stock Market Challenge

(Buffalo, NY) – During a two-week competition held in November, 492 Junior Achievement high school students from across WNY participated in an exciting, simulated stock market experience where they aimed to take top honors, while growing their fictitious starting investment portfolio of $500,000.

Students represented 13 schools, with the top prize being awarded to Addison Zahn from Jamestown High School. Additional winners include Alex Sturniolo of Hamburg High School, Greg Brumigan of Jamestown High School, and Ethan Farley and Peyton Johnson, of St. Francis High School.

Prior to the JA Stock Market Challenge, students engage with the JA Take Stock in Your Future curriculum to learn basic concepts about how the market works and the impact of current events. Participants discover the benefits and challenges of investing in the stock market as part of a broader, long-term investment strategy and the risks and rewards of trading. JA Take Stock in Your Future and the JA Stock Market Challenge competition, earned the national seal of Excellence in Financial Literacy Education in 2023 as it was recognized as best Children’s Education Program of the Year: Saving & Investing.

Wells Fargo is the Presenting sponsor of this unique and interactive JA learning experience. New this year, are the two-week virtual competitions held in Fall and Spring, to be followed by an in-person, championship event to be held on April 16, 2024. Participating schools will be encouraged to send their top performing students from the earlier virtual competitions.

Addison Zahn said, “The Stock Market Challenge presented in Mrs. Schultze’s Personal Finance class was not only educational but also entertaining. I may have lucked out when I unintentionally loaded up on one stock, but it turned out to be beneficial for me and helped me come out on top. I am looking forward to using what I have learned from this Challenge and the class and apply it to my personal life in the future.”

2^nd place winner, Alex Sturniolo, of Hamburg High School said, “The Stock Market Challenge was a great introduction to the stock market. I really enjoyed choosing my stocks and checking the leaderboard and the stock tips every day. I am so excited to be a winner and look forward to learning more about investing.”

JA Stock Market Challenge Top 5 Students:
1^st place: Addison Zahn, Jamestown High School
2^nd place: Alex Sturniolo, Hamburg High School
3^rd place (tie): Greg Brumigan of Jamestown High School, Ethan Farley of St. Francis High School, and Peyton Johnson of St. Francis High School

JA Stock Market Challenge Participating Schools:
Erie County: Alden High School, Amherst High School, Clarence High School, Depew High School, Eden High School, Hamburg High School, Kenmore East High School, St. Francis High School, St. Mary’s High School, West Seneca East High School
Niagara County: Niagara Falls High School
Chautauqua County: Falconer High School, Jamestown High School

This program is not possible without support from our partners: Wells Fargo, Presenting Sponsor; additional support from: Delta Air Lines; HSBC Bank USA N.A.; The Lenna Foundation; Bryant & Stratton College; Bank on Buffalo; Tops Friendly Markets; Zgoda & Associates CPAs, PC; Perry’s Ice Cream; PwC; Reid/Crosby’s; Broadview Federal Credit Union; Deloitte; Evans Bank; KPMG; Lawley; Linde LLC; Lippes Mathias LLP; National Fuel; Seneca Foods Foundation; West Herr Auto Group; WSF Industries, Inc; Financial Trust Federal Credit Union; Freed Maxick CPA’s; L&M Wealth Management; Lakelet Capital LLC; and Northwest Bank.

Proceeds from the JA Virtual Stock Market Challenge support Junior Achievement’s financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career & work-readiness pathway programs for kindergarten-12 grade students. For more information about Junior Achievement programs, visit www.jawny.org.