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Hofstra-NYMEX Commodities Challenge for High Schools
Friday, January 4, 2008 & Friday, January 11, 2008; 10:30am to 3:30pm
Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room, CV Starr Hall, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11549
Please click here for the webgallery of the pictures from the open outcry trading competition which was held on January 11, 2008.
Please click here for the video from the open outcry trading competition which was held on January 11, 2008.
Hofstra University and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) have developed an innovative program designed to introduce high school students to the exciting world of commodities markets and their impact on the economy and investments. This program extends the Frank G. Zarb School of Business’ ongoing efforts to provide Long Island high schools with business education beyond that offered at the high school level.
NYMEX has traditionally offered the NYMEX Commodities Challenge at the college level and limited participation to the top business schools in the country.
Our new commodities challenge gave high school students access to an educational opportunity that combines the knowledge and expertise of both academics and practitioners coupled with a simulated trading competition. This two day event was held at the state of the art Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room which is the only university academic trading room in the country with 34 Bloomberg Professional terminals.
Hofstra-NYMEX Commodities Challenge for High Schools had two components and the results were announced on January 14, 2008
Simulated electronic trading which was held on Friday January 4th at the Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room of Hofstra University utilized the CQG trading platform. In the electronic trading competition teams of students from 15 high schools traded crude oil futures contract using the actual real-time prices from the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The winners of the electronic trading competition are
First place: Freeport High School team - Deneida McCullough & William Osei
Second place: Commack High School team - Adam Camiolo & Paul Feingold
Third place: Northport High School team - Gregory Albert & Kevin Slawinski
Simulated open outcry trading which was held on Friday January 11th at the Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room of Hofstra University utilized a trading pit which is a simple and smaller scale version of the ones found at NYMEX trading floor. In the open outcry trading competition 30 individual students executed trading orders for crude oil futures contract based on the training they received from actual traders from NYMEX. The exciting atmosphere of the crude oil trading pit of NYMEX was recreated by the high schools students at Hofstra.
The winners of the open outcry trading competition are
First place: Gregory Borofsky from Hebrew Academy Senior High School
Second place: Madison Horl from Garden City Senior High School
Third place (tie between): Adam Sprachman from Deer Park High School and Drew White from Harborfields High School at Greenlawn
All participating students and their high school teachers received certificates as well as Hofstra and NYMEX souvenirs. 10 students who were the winners in electronic and open outcry competitions received ipods from Hofstra. First place winners and their teachers will be treated to a tour of the NYMEX trading floor in Manhattan, meeting with actual traders and brokers as well as to a lunch with traders.
David Greenberg, President of Sterling Commodities, was among the actual traders who helped train high school students for the open outcry trading. He is the son of Martin B. Greenberg, '60, in whose honor the academic trading room at Hofstra was dedicated last year.
Hofstra and NYMEX are planning to make this an annual event. The event was organized by Dr. Nancy A. White, Associate Professor and Chairperson of Finance Department and Dr. Ahmet K. Karagozoglu, Associate Professor of Finance and the Academic Director of Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room at Hofstra. Linda Rapacki and John Lemkan, both with the Training and Development at NYMEX and Robert Bardunias were other organizers.
Dr. Ahmet Karagozoglu, associate professor of finance and academic director of the Trading Room, indicated that “to the best of our knowledge such an event, an educational opportunity that combines the knowledge and expertise of both academics and practitioners coupled with a simulated trading competition, has never been offered for high schools by a university or an exchange in the tri-state area. This was an excellent educational opportunity and once-in-a-life-time experience for the Long Island high school students. I was very trilled with the enthusiasm of both the high school students and their teachers. Students expressed extreme satisfaction with the knowledge they have gained and the experience they had a traders in the Hofstra-NYMEX Commodities Challenge for High Schools. They all asked that this event to be continued every year since it is very unique and very beneficial.”
List of the high schools participated in the Hofstra-NYMEX Commodities Challenge for High Schools
Babylon High School
Commack High School
Deer Park High School
Division Avenue High School-Levittown
Elmont Memorial High School
Freeport High School
Garden City Senior High School
Great Neck South High School
Harborfields High School-Greenlawn
Hebrew Academy Senior High School
Huntington High School
Manhasset High School
Northport Senior High School
Syosset High School
West Islip High School
Please click here for the University's news release announcing the event.
For the flyer of this event please click here, brief schedule is included in the flyer.
For the Handout by Dr. Nancy A. White please click here. (recommended reading for this event)
For a brief introduction to futures contracts please click here. (recommended reading for this event)
Excerpt from an academic research paper on the costs and benefits of organized futures markets click here. (for reference purposes)
Links for the NYMEX brochures
Why do they need to yell and make funny gestures? (recommended reading for this event)
Glossary of Terms (for reference purposes)
Overview of the New York Mercantile Exchange (for reference purposes)