As the echo of the opening bell rang throughout Cedar Rapids’ DoubleTree Hotel Conference Center, high school students frantically began buying and selling stocks. Over 150 students from across eastern Iowa competed in the 3rd annual Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa Stock Market Challenge on Thursday in hopes of ending the 60 minute competition with the highest return on investment. 

“The event ended up being far more stressful than I expected,” Henry Schoon ‘22 stated after the competition, “I felt like I was on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange–it was chaos.”

In a frenzy of massive profits, panic selling, and FOMO, City High placed 3 teams in the top 10. “The HODLers” were City High’s highest finishing team. After ending the competition in 4th place, The HODLers went home heartbroken and disappointed, however, one week later it was determined that the 3rd place team was disqualified. In a wild turn of events, the senior trio of Aaron Rutherford ‘22, Henry Schoon ‘22, and Parker Max ‘22 found themselves on the podium–finishing 3rd place out of 32 teams. 

“Receiving the email that we would finish on the podium was a surprise and exciting,” Schoon said, “However, we were still proud of our efforts when we thought we only finished in 4th place so this was just an added bonus.”

As a school, City High finished in the middle of the standings at the end of the event, with Anamosa High School claiming the top position. Club co-sponsor Dr. Andrew Leman said that the event was an incredible success for the club and a valuable learning experience.

“The event was one of those learning experiences that are just not possible in a classroom setting,” Leman said, “Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa did a fantastic job replicating the stress and excitement of the stock market. It was an incredible experience for all of our students.”