University students gain professional experience for future careers

Students from universities all over the country are gearing up to compete in events such as the College Stock Trading Championship and the TVA Investment Challenge to gain real world experience and prepare for their futures.

The College Stock Trading Championship is a competition in which students are able to compete against each other on the NASDAQ (the American stock exchange) 100 in an eight-week competition. The event started on Feb. 19 and the finals begin on April 7.

Invoost Games, a social stock trading game provider hosting the championship, has invited over 200 universities to compete.

The championship is open to all universities nationwide who would like to join in the competition. There are currently 370 students registered for the competition.

Among those competing are students from universities such as Penn State, University of Wisconsin and Harvard.

The results of the competition will test how students from top schools match up against the rest of the students competing.

Tyler Maglione, co-founder of Invoost Games, said the main objective of the College Stock Trading Championship is for those involved to gain experience and sharpen their decision making skills, especially when money comes into play.

“We want people to feel the thrill of competing,” Maglione said. “People act differently when there is money on the line.”

The main prize of the competition is $10,000. The winner will also earn the honor of bringing the College Stock Trading Championship trophy home to their school.

Murray State students are currently involved in a similar competition, the TVA Investment Challenge. The challenge helps them to gain professional experience and real world knowledge toward their future careers.

The TVA Investment Challenge is a partnership between TVA and 25 other universities in the Tennessee Valley region to provide a learning experience in portfolio management.

The challenge gives teams of students from each university hands-on experience in managing different TVA stock portfolios.

Students actively manage TVA funds by designing long-term investment strategies, placing trades and providing performance reports to TVA all under the guidance of a faculty member.

David Durr, adviser the TVA Investment Challenge at Murray, said programs such as the College Stock Trading Championship and the TVA Investment Challenge gives students actual experience which can be applied to their future career goals.

“Students who want to go on in pursuing their professional career benefit greatly from these types of programs,” Durr said. “It looks great on a resume and gives them something to talk to potential employers about.”

With both the TVA Investment Challenge and the College Stock Trading Championship, students learn how to manage real money and experience all the requirements that go into such an important task.

They are held to similar guidelines as professional money managers and the guidelines they will be held to in their future careers.

Durr said students gain experience which goes beyond what is taught in the classroom and builds practical knowledge for the future when they become involved in these types of programs.

Story by Rebecca Walter, Staff writer.

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