Learning the rules of table-top shuffle board
doesn't take long. Push a colored weight down the waxed board and try
to make it stop before it slides off the opposite end of the table. It
may, however, take longer to for a new-comer to take on the competitive
nature of Wichita senior Thomas John. For John, who lives across the
street from Rick's Place, a popular shuffleboard location, it's the
competition that he likes. The competition, in fact, is also why he
enjoys working in the stock market. "It's like playing a hand of poker
and every day you get a new card," John said of trading stocks.
Despite his tired eyes and scruffy appearance, John is considered to be one the best student stock-traders on campus. In the last two months the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 1700 points leaving people worried about their investment and retirement
funds. But John is confident it's only a matter of time before the market goes up again.
John is a teaching assistant for the Applied Portfolio Management class in the School of Business and deals with the impact of the uncertain stock market daily. The class, which requires students to write reports on companies and potential stock purchases, gave John the sort of challenge he was looking for.
Growing up John was always surrounded by finance and business sense. His mom Deborah, and entrepreneur of sorts, has owned her own business for 21 years. She advises universities, such as Boston College, with their financial aid programs and has given John a head-start in the finance world. "My first words were accounts receivable," John said.
Through grade school and high school John always did well with math. After graduating from The Independent School in Wichita he enrolled at the University of Kansas in the management program. He soon learned that management wasn't his passion. "Accounting kind of bored me," John said.
After taking Dr. Kelly D. Welch's investments class changed John's perspective on his career goals. Welch, who has been teaching at KU for two years, said he tries to apply his classes to real events in the stock market as much as possible. Welch said that might have been what helped John discover his interest in finance. "It's always rewarding when a talented student like Tom John is inspired by class," Welch said.
John is recognized by his peers as one of the brightest students on campus when it comes to deciding a company's market value. Drew Roth, Wichita senior, who met John in high school and worked with him when they took Applied Portfolio Management, describes John as a great partner. Roth said that any time someone as bright as John gets motivated the way John is it makes for a good partnership. Spencer Klingman, Wichita senior, says John puts 110 percent into everything he does. Klingman, finance major, said portfolio management is too much work for him but said John has always made an effort regardless of what he was doing. "He's a type A personality that if he's going to do something he's going to do it all the way," Klingman said.
Roth said he understands why John is interested in trading. Applied Portfolio Management was one of Roth's favorite classes and said it's one of the best classes offered in the School of Business. John's roommate, Michael Bruchis, Montgomery, Ala. senior, said he too found the class to be addicting. But Bruchis and Roth still said they didn't enjoy the class as much as John. "He's the kind of guy that would do it in his free time," Roth said.
Even though John sold most of his personal stocks before the market fall the came out of the mortgage crisis he wasn't without loss. John lost $6,000 of his own money this summer and said there's not much anyone can do to protect their investments. Still, John sees the market now as an opportunity for young people to get into the market. "It's not going to go anywhere but up long term," John said. He said students can stand to be risky while they are young, unlike someone worried about their retirement fund.
Students involved in the stock market, especially as much as John, are hard to find. In Summerfield Hall, however, he's a familiar face. It's not uncommon to see John reading the Wall Street Journal in the lounge or asking Welch his opinions on market news. For John it's all part of keeping his competitive edge.
Despite his tired eyes and scruffy appearance, John is considered to be one the best student stock-traders on campus. In the last two months the Dow Jones industrial average dropped more than 1700 points leaving people worried about their investment and retirement
John is a teaching assistant for the Applied Portfolio Management class in the School of Business and deals with the impact of the uncertain stock market daily. The class, which requires students to write reports on companies and potential stock purchases, gave John the sort of challenge he was looking for.
Growing up John was always surrounded by finance and business sense. His mom Deborah, and entrepreneur of sorts, has owned her own business for 21 years. She advises universities, such as Boston College, with their financial aid programs and has given John a head-start in the finance world. "My first words were accounts receivable," John said.
Through grade school and high school John always did well with math. After graduating from The Independent School in Wichita he enrolled at the University of Kansas in the management program. He soon learned that management wasn't his passion. "Accounting kind of bored me," John said.
After taking Dr. Kelly D. Welch's investments class changed John's perspective on his career goals. Welch, who has been teaching at KU for two years, said he tries to apply his classes to real events in the stock market as much as possible. Welch said that might have been what helped John discover his interest in finance. "It's always rewarding when a talented student like Tom John is inspired by class," Welch said.
John is recognized by his peers as one of the brightest students on campus when it comes to deciding a company's market value. Drew Roth, Wichita senior, who met John in high school and worked with him when they took Applied Portfolio Management, describes John as a great partner. Roth said that any time someone as bright as John gets motivated the way John is it makes for a good partnership. Spencer Klingman, Wichita senior, says John puts 110 percent into everything he does. Klingman, finance major, said portfolio management is too much work for him but said John has always made an effort regardless of what he was doing. "He's a type A personality that if he's going to do something he's going to do it all the way," Klingman said.
Roth said he understands why John is interested in trading. Applied Portfolio Management was one of Roth's favorite classes and said it's one of the best classes offered in the School of Business. John's roommate, Michael Bruchis, Montgomery, Ala. senior, said he too found the class to be addicting. But Bruchis and Roth still said they didn't enjoy the class as much as John. "He's the kind of guy that would do it in his free time," Roth said.
Even though John sold most of his personal stocks before the market fall the came out of the mortgage crisis he wasn't without loss. John lost $6,000 of his own money this summer and said there's not much anyone can do to protect their investments. Still, John sees the market now as an opportunity for young people to get into the market. "It's not going to go anywhere but up long term," John said. He said students can stand to be risky while they are young, unlike someone worried about their retirement fund.
Students involved in the stock market, especially as much as John, are hard to find. In Summerfield Hall, however, he's a familiar face. It's not uncommon to see John reading the Wall Street Journal in the lounge or asking Welch his opinions on market news. For John it's all part of keeping his competitive edge.
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