Investing Insights is a non-profit organization created and run solely by Valley high school students. Its mission is to promote financial literacy to younger generations.
"Last year I was on the team that won the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition and through that competition is how I really discovered my interest and passion for anything related to economics, finance, and investment," says Elizabeth Ovelil, the founder and president of Investing Insights.
Ovelil decided to organize her own team with friends. At first, it was for a competition but then they all realized the impact that sharing their knowledge with the community could have.
"Learning from a young age how money works, and how to be financially responsible, is really imperative for everyone in the country to know," says Ovelil.
Currently, the team of high school students is targeting upper-elementary and younger middle school students.
"Being so close to their age sort of promotes a role model-type relationship between us and them," says John Ovelil, the VP treasurer of Investing Insights.
The free six-week course is designed to give kids the foundation they need to succeed.
"First, we like to start off with the basic introduction to money. Next, we go into more saving and investing. We also like to talk about the differences between these concepts. What we hope people to gain, is that we want these kids to learn from a young age about saving and what they can do with this money in the long run," says Divya Natarajan, the vice president and chairman of Investing Insights.
Chandler Mayor Kevin Hartke even sat in on one of their lessons, supporting their efforts.
"Financial literacy, and this kind of topic, isn't that largely focused on by schools around this area. So, we hope to remedy that," says William Deng, the vice president of development at Investing Insights.
Each of the seven team members has previous knowledge in the field and continues training online. They may speak like adults but in all actuality, they are just kids who enjoy having fun while leaving the world a better place.
The team will have more courses available this summer. They also hope to create a more advanced course for older students later on.
