A Lifelong Passion Anonymous

During a typical fall morning in my second grade year, I came across my dad contemplating an endless list of blurry numbers that covered the pages of his newspaper. Looking up at me, he pointed to a sketch of man’s face. “This is Warren Buffett,” he explained. “This is one of the richest people in the world.” He went on to describe this wonderful system whereby a person could purchase a stock and steadily earn increasing sums of money. As my dad handed me the paper, those previously blurry numbers miraculously transformed into the most glorious, crystal clear information I had ever seen.

This illuminating conversation sparked a keen interest in the stock market, which over time led me to develop my own portfolio, share my love of investing with my classmates through the establishment of Green Mountain Interactive Investments, and complete an internship with Balyasny Asset Management (BAM). Although I clearly lacked the proper financial schooling to qualify for this position, after conveying my passion, discipline, knowledge, and maturity to the firm, I successfully gained a role as the first high school intern at BAM in company history. Over the course of my summer internship I performed duties designed to provide me with...