Jahn Team Captain Leo received a behind the scenes tour of William Blair where he learned all about the U.S. Stock Market. It is year 2 of a two year partnership with William Blair and Take the Lead, we are excited to share yet another unique learning opportunity for our Team Captains.
“I recently had a one-of-a-kind day because I got to visit William Blair! At 2:50 I left my school with Coach Eugene and we took an Uber to the William Blair building in Chicago’s Loop. Traffic to the city was pretty light so we arrived in no time. When we got there we met with Liberty, a William Blair team member. Liberty helped make this experience possible, I can’t thank her enough. Once she took us to the 31st floor, I got to see all the computers and people on the trading floor.
Matt, another team member at William Blair showed us around the Trading Floor and taught me what a stock is. A stock/share is something you can buy or sell and the cost of one may vary depending on the company. Matt told me that McDonald’s sells one share for $120, he also told me that in 2003 they sold for $13. Essentially, McDonald’s is a very profitable business.
When we went out to see the traders at work on the floor, a stock trader named Bill was telling me about what was happening at that moment. He told me that he was working on selling Coca-Cola shares. I saw on the screen that there were more people selling shares than people buying. Now and then Bill would get calls and he told me that these were calls from all over the U.S. and that they were asking if he had any shares from a certain company. He said that they have people who own other trading companies and they would ask each other if they had this or that. It was cool to hear that even though they aren’t on the same team, they still have good sportsmanship.
After the tour, Coach Eugene and I took a walk over to the Urban Initiatives office. The weather was pretty nice and the views of the buildings and the river were amazing so the walk was fun. Once we arrived I saw Coach Cris, Coach Kate, and all the other UI staff and I told them about my experience. When it was time to leave Coach Cris asked me to write about my experience so I can give everyone an inside look at the cool opportunities that are given to us. It was so fun to visit William Blair, I can’t wait to go back. The entire team was really cool and they taught me a lot. Thanks William Blair for inviting me and thanks Ms. Liberty for setting it all up!”
Leo – Team Captain
