Prices rise and fall in a stock simulation contest. Students chat about stock market inflation and simulate supply and demand with pieces of candy.
Meeting in room 350 during X-block, the club heads lead simulations and games, providing exciting ways to learn new ideas ranging from GDP to free trade. An outsider looking into the world of Market Minds will find a creative and flexible club that teaches economic concepts in innovative ways.
The idea of Market Minds was spearheaded by junior and founder Annie Shi in 2024. Shi wanted to reach out and educate others on economics, according to junior and vice president Harrison Chan.
Club meetings are often filled with games that teach basic economic principles and allow for collaboration, said sophomore Rory Buckey-McMahon, who joined the club this year.
“I like the simulations, because they’re informal but they’re fun,” Buckley-McMahon said.
Sophomore Cooper Li said that simulations often make the students in Market Minds get excited and involved in their stock market lessons, where they can learn to apply their knowledge in real-life situations.
“I think it’s teaching me how to invest wisely. You should spread out what you’re putting your money in and you shouldn’t put it all into one thing,” Li said.
Chan said the club is flexible but shares important new messages and lessons in every meeting.
“You don’t even have to come to all our meetings if you don’t want to. Just come try the stock picking competition. It’s a good experience,” Chan said. “At the end, we go over stocks, and you can see, ‘Oh, that worked because of this,’ and ‘My stocks maybe didn’t go up as much because this real-life event happened.’”
One standout activity Market Minds ran was teaching supply and demand using pieces of candy. Club members worked creatively with candy and paper stars. These fun examples showcased real-life market dynamics.
“We gave them paper stars to use as currency and they were like, ‘I want this candy, but I could get five boxes of raisins for one star,’” said Chan.
Club leaders want to continue expanding Market Minds beyond the high school, according to Chan.
“Currently we want to do an outreach program where we teach younger kids about economics, so that hopefully when they get to high school, they have some knowledge on what they want to do and they’ll be more prepared,” Chan said.
Market Minds influences students by allowing them to see if they enjoy economics or if they could see aspects of it in their future, according to Buckley-McMahon.
“Economics would be an interesting area to go into because of Market Minds. It’s a lot more than just picking stocks,” Buckley-McMahon said.
With games and simulations, the club allows for free discussion and conversations. Upon entering the club, loud conversations fill the room and members greet each other.
“I feel like everyone’s got their own table,” Li said. “But just because you’ve got your own table doesn’t mean you don’t know anybody, because everybody is connected.”
