Northbrook Elementary Student Wins State Contest With Stock Market Essay

NORTHBROOK, IL — Juliet Corush, a fifth-grader at Westmoor Elementary School, recently won a statewide contest for writing an essay on the stock market.

Corush's essay wowed the judges of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation's spring InvestWrite competition, "the nation's premier youth financial challenge," according to the organization. Northbrook District 28 tells Patch the essay was selected over thousands of entries.

InvestWrite is the capstone to the SIFMA Foundation's Stock Market Game, a curriculum-based simulation in which students manage a hypothetical $100,000 portfolio of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and cash. The program has reached more than 23 million students since 1977 and is widely recognized for improving academic achievement in math, economics and personal finance, according to SIFMA.

Annually, the competition challenges students to apply what they’ve learned in the Stock Market Game to a real-world investing scenario. Thousands of financial professionals across the country volunteer to judge the essays, selecting winners who demonstrate depth of knowledge, critical thinking, and a practical vision for financial independence.

Corush and teacher Nick Grigolo were honored by the SIFMA Foundation in a ceremony held last week at Westmoor. The organization said of Corush's piece, "Her thoughtful, long-term investment plan earned demonstrated a clear understanding of diversification, long-term investing, and risk— core concepts that define smart financial decision-making."

"We’re thrilled to celebrate Juliet for this outstanding achievement," said Melanie Mortimer, president of the SIFMA Foundation. "This is a powerful example of how financial education helps young people take control of their futures. By understanding long-term investing, students like Juliet are building not just portfolios, but real financial confidence, know-how and independence."

Here is Corush's winning entry, courtesy of Northbrook District 28

Juliet’s Winning Essay

If I had $10,000, I would use the money to help other kids. For example, I could buy food for the hungry. I don’t want people to suffer without food. It is very important that kids have food. One reason is that kids need to stay healthy or else they will get sick. Without food, kids won’t grow. Kids also need energy to play and to learn in school.

Also, I would buy school supplies for schools who need them. School supplies are fun when you use colors and markers. For example, you can be creative with these materials. I make posters for school, and I use whiteboards too. In addition, I want kids to have folders, markers, pens, pencils, paper, and calculators for their schools. They need these to help kids feel organized and comfortable with their different school subjects.

In order to make this happen, I want to invest in Costco and Tesla. If I invest in Costco and Tesla I would expect to earn more money. I earn more money so I can help kids get more school supplies and feed the hungry. Improving health and knowledge is important to me. Next, I think Nvidia will have more money in the future of the stock market. The world is changing because technology is growing. I think investing in a tech company is smart because technology is getting more advanced. The stock market will be better for me because I can invest more and have more money.

Continuing, I can teach my family about the stock market, and we can invest together. I will show them that it is important to buy stocks when you want more money, but it is important to buy stocks when they're low. This is important because you earn more money. I would watch the stock market carefully. I do this because when you're losing money you can buy stocks that will bring money in the future.

After learning and participating in the Stock Market Game, I will be smart with my money and invest if I need to. When I work hard in the actual stock market, I can follow my dreams. I hope in my future I can make that dream happen. Unfortunately, some kids don’t have healthy food in their lives. Some people can’t afford the school supplies that I have. I dream that someday this can all happen thanks to the stock market.