On Sept. 30, students participated in the Junior Achievement Stock Market Challenge. DECA and FBLA members, as well as those in the wealth building class, competed against other schools to buy and sell stocks.

In the challenge, 60 seconds represented one day, and teams competed in two rounds of “60 days.”

“The main goal of the stock market challenge was to give students an idea of how to invest, how quickly the markets can change and what that looks like for a stock broker in a real world situation,” DECA sponsor Mrs. Kathy Little said. “We had eight teams. Basically, everybody started out with $1 million, and it’s strictly based on return of investment.”

Students participated both virtually and in person, with some non-LPS schools competing from Innovation Campus at UNL.

“This year was my second year of competing in the challenge,” junior Nick Loriaux said. “I have been buying stock and investing for years, but the reason I first got into the area was my dad and grandfather encouraging me to grow my wealth.”

Southwest’s highest ranked team placed 40 of out 295 state-wide teams.