Jersey City high school students win this year's Devin Harris/Merrill Lynch Investment Challenge

By Melissa Hayes/The Jersey Journal
May 16, 2010, 6:00PM

In only two months, a team of Jersey City High School students turned $100,000 into nearly $113,000, a profit big enough to win them a state title.

"I wish I made it in real life," team captain Kevin Browne, a junior at Henry Snyder High School, said.

The students were competing against about 70 other teams in the 13th annual New Jersey Stock Market Game. Jersey City dominated this year's competition
Browne was also one of two students in the state to win a paid summer internship at Merrill Lynch. His application looked at consumer spending and Apple products.

"I want to pursue a career in business," Browne said. "I need to be aware of the stock market."

Brown and classmates Jannell Jackson, Jomar Sabas, Chris Militante and Alexandra Escobar will be presented with a first place award in this year's Devin Harris/Merrill Lynch Investment Challenge at the Izod Center.

Last year a team from Snyder placed twelfth in the state, the highest a Jersey City school had ranked. This year Snyder teams took first and fifth and teams from Dickinson High School took second and third.

"I expected nothing but the best from them and they've produced that," Snyder Principal Larry Odoms said.

This is the second year Steve Sharmokh, a math teacher at Snyder High School, has entered teams of students into the competition.

Teams are given a theoretical $100,000 and using computer software invests it in stocks as if they are actually playing the market. The students at Snyder had the biggest return on investment, ending the two months with $112,802.64.

Browne said the team focused its investments in the "teenage market" -- clothing, video games and electronics. They invested in companies like Nike.

Jackson said it was helpful learning about how the stock market works, but she doesn't think she'll be investing for real anytime soon. "It's very risky," she said.

Browne said he looks forward to having his own money to invest. "I enjoy the risk," he said.

Students Elio Michelem, Ashley Felder, Jeneba Lagao and Kashawn Fuller, from Dickinson High School, took second place in the state, ending the competition with $111,455.41.

Not far behind them, classmates Mohand Tatai, Andrew Suarez and Shyam Patel, took third in the state with $109,077.85.

Snyder students Timothy Harvin, Chanel Daniels, Takala Crook, Nabil Miftahi and Dwight Andrews, took fifth with $107,388.43