Furious keyboard clicks accompanied friendly chatter as the Economics club began its fourth meeting in a sunlit room full of students.

The Economics club was created at the beginning of this school year by junior Ben Kasen. The club is available to both upperclassmen and underclassmen and offers a fun and informative space where students can expand their economic knowledge through interactive club activities.

Kasen said he started the Economics club to make learning about economics more accessible to students at the high school; the high demand for the high school’s economic elective makes this education hard to find for students, especially underclassmen.

“I would have liked to be learning about economics at a younger age if I had the chance, so I decided to start this club to teach about the principles of economics to spark interest in students, especially ninth or tenth graders who might just be joining clubs,” Kasen said.

Kasen said he believes that by learning about economics at a younger age, young people can start thinking about their choices in a more economically-informed way.

Junior Clara Delcamino-Yang, who has been in the Economics club since it was formed at the beginning of the school year, said she found the club’s resources helpful.

“I like that we actually learn things that we can use in real life. Economics club gives you a different way to think about money, things that you do and things that you buy,” Delcamino-Yang said.

Junior Ryan Wolf, who helped Kasen form the club along with junior Yoni Tsapira, said one of the things he likes about Economics club is its social environment.

“Economics club offers a place to make new friends. It’s very welcoming and talkative,” Wolf said.

Kasen explained that one way the Economics club has been maintaining its collaborative social environment is with its stock simulator game, where students can warm up their brains by trading real-life stocks using imaginary money.

Freshman Cole Ortiz, who joined the club to make money, said that he likes the club’s chill environment.

“I’ve enjoyed the stock simulator, and saying I have more money than my friends. It’s pretty fun,” Ortiz said.

Kasen said the real learning begins after the students’ minds have geared up for economics through the simulator games.

“We try to build off of previous lessons with every new lesson. We have group discussions on new content as well as preparation work for future topics so that students can understand what we’ll be discussing,” Kasen said.

As the Economics club assembles a group of economically-informed upperclassmen and lowerclassmen students, Kasen said he is thinking ahead.

“Towards the end of the year, there’s a competition called the National Economics Challenge. I want us to try to enroll and participate in it, so that’s what we’ll be working towards,” Kasen said.