This Week At CART – Madison Ellis

Hi everyone! I am a CART ambassador and a senior in the Business and Finance Lab. The Business Lab prepares all of its students for everyday responsibilities that we will take on as college students and adults. Throughout the year we have learned how to budget, write checks, and even run our own businesses.

Recently, our class has been focusing on growing our personal finances while facing all that life throws at us. We have been able to hypothetically invest in different stocks found on the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500). This is a stock market index used to track 500 large companies that have been listed on stock exchanges in the US. It is one of the most commonly used tools by people interested in making smart investments. With our stocks, we have been able to carefully document their changes in price and risk by using google sheets.

Although everything we have learned this year has been extremely helpful in preparing for my future, I am most grateful for the chance I was given to prepare for college. I was able to research different careers and colleges that I was interested in applying to. This relieved much of the stress that I felt as a senior. I had been struggling to know exactly what career I wanted to pursue and all of the details that followed. In class, I was able to learn how to budget for college and organize all of my findings into a binder.  

CART has taught me many life skills and I am thankful for the opportunities that I have been given. As a student, I am already able to say that I have team working experience, financial literacy, and critical thinking skills. I am excited to share what I have learned with others and feel more prepared going into adulthood.