The Finance Club is the newest addition to Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s list of organizations and activities.
Focusing on educating the student body about financial management, stock portfolios and careers in finance, the club is an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in the mechanics and elements of the economy.
“Finance is an important aspect in anyone’s life, whether it’s managing your own money and budgeting or if you want to [pursue a career] in finance, knowing what everything entails and the experience of it all is the knowledge we want to provide,” Anshita Jaiswal, a sophomore and the founder of the Finance Club, explained.
According to Jaiswal and the board of officers, they plan to educate its members about finance and “money in general.” They said it will allow people to ask themselves if they would like to pursue finance as a career.
They plan to not only educate the student body, but also guide students towards a specific career, whether that may be a CEO, stockbroker or accountant. When considering the future, Jaiswal said that “it’s important to know what you want to do and where you want to go, and [Finance Club] can be a vital influence in this process.”
Meetings are held biweekly on Fridays in room 614 during Unit Lunch, lasting for about half the period. Featuring slideshows used to direct and explain finance and economics in depth, the meetings explain various aspects of business, budgeting, management and other mechanics of finance, such as stocks.
Jaiswal plans to introduce guest speakers experienced in the field of finance to these meetings to talk about their career and the process of getting there. Fundraisers, competitions and club events are also being discussed. Additionally, Jaiswal and her officers hope to bring the club to different competitions.
Recently, club members participated in a trading day hosted by Stevens Institute of Technology. The first part of this event included workshops on how the stock market functions and the second part included students from various schools competing in the stock market. The top 25 are determined by the game money earned through trading. Those who made it to the leader board will visit Stevens this spring.
Finance Club is an opportunity for students to engage themselves in the financial field. It is not only an introduction to possible careers, majors and extracurricular activities that involve the economy, but it educates students on vital information regarding financial responsibility.
Jaiswal concluded with a final statement.
“This club will help people explore the field [of finance] and understand it. I want to expose members to these experiences and develop a successful club that will help students in the future,” she said.
