PUHI — What do you dream about achieving in your lifetime?
Daniel Castle’s answer to that question, in an essay, was good enough to earn first-place honors in the Fall 2019 InvestWrite in Hawai‘i.
“I have always had a liking of video games,” the eighth-grade student from Chiefess Kamakahelei Middle School answered in his winning essay. “The music makes the video game that much better, and the emotion is greater.”
The essay pitched a $450,000 investment plan to fund his dream of becoming a video-game composer, reflecting on Oprah Winfrey’s inspiring statement, “Whatever our dreams, ideas or projects, we plant a seed, nurture it and then reap the fruits of our labor.”
That pitch to virtual investors earned him first-place honors in the state that was presented to him by Robin Dame, a financial advisor at Edward Jones, Thursday afternoon before an audience including CKMS teacher Tyler Gage, who also shared prizes for being the inspiring teacher, Daniel’s mother Danae Castle, and students in Gage’s class.
“I would invest in stocks and bonds in companies that are expected to grow now (like Disney and Apple), and then, in 10 years, sell them and make money off them,” Castle said in his essay. “Second, I would put money into mutual funds, specifically mutual funds that earn around 9 to 11 percent of the investment so that I can put in some money and leave with a greater amount than when I invested. And, finally, I will build interest on money that you give me using a savings account.”
The contest presented by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation has students from around the nation working in teams investing a virtual $100,000 in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
“The competition is stiff,” Dame said. “While creating a top-performing $100,000 portfolio in the Stock Market Game is difficult, creating a top-performing essay in the InvestWrite competition is even harder. During the fall 2019 semester, more than 5,600 students wrote essays. Of these, about 2,600 were written at the high-school level, 2,000 at the middle-school level, and about 1,000 at the elementary school level.”
For his efforts, Castle earned an InvestWrite magnet, notebook and pencils, a water bottle, trophy, medal and a $100 gift card.
Gage was also presented with a share of prizes.
“This is the second consecutive year that one of Mr. Gage’s students won the InvestWrite competition,” Dame said.
“Additionally, Mr. Gage and three of his students won the regional Stock Market Game competition, the Capitol Hill Challenge. They got to fly out to Washington, D.C., to meet their Congressional representative and engage in an impactful discussion about financial policymaking.”
Castle said he is participating in this year’s Stock Market Game.
•••
Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
