For this inspiring episode of Learning in Lake Oswego, we sit down with two outstanding students making a big impact in our high schools: Mallory Ensing, senior at Lakeridge High School and president of the Positive Psychology Club, a group focused on promoting mental health and well-being, and Arjun Ramakrishnan, a junior at Lake Oswego High School, president and founder of the school’s chapter of the Young Investor Society, empowering students to develop financial literacy and investment skills. Learn how these student leaders create positive opportunities for their peers and the community. It’s a fulfilling conversation about leadership, learning, and innovation in our Lake Oswego schools.
Dr. Jennifer Schiele, Superintendent, LOSD
Mary Kay Larson, Executive Director of Communications, LOSD
Mallory Ensing, Student, Lakeridge High School
Arjun Ramakrishnan, Student, Lake Oswego High School
MICHELLE ODELL:: [00:00:00] Welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego, a podcast providing educational insights for an engaged community. Lake Oswego School District Superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Schiele, will discuss what's important to our learning community. She'll be joined by experts examining various topics, answering important questions, and sharing upcoming events and activities you won't want to miss.
And now, it's your host. Lake Oswego School District Executive Director of Communications, Mary Kay Larson.
MARY KAY LARSON:: Hi everyone, welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego. I'm Mary Kay Larson here with our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer Schiele. Today we have two extraordinary students here to talk about their involvement in some really interesting school clubs.
First, we're going to talk to Mallory Insing, a senior at Lake Ridge High School and president of the Positive Psychology Club. And then we're going to talk to Arjun Ramakrishnan, a [00:01:00] junior at Lake Oswego High School, who is the president and founder of the school's Young Investor Society. I'm really looking forward to hearing more about these unique experiences that our students have.
Jen,
DR JENNIFER SCHIELE:: let's get started. Thanks Mary Kay. Hi Mallory and Arjun. You both are incredibly busy with your leadership roles and we're excited to learn more about your work and the unique opportunities you're helping to create with other students. So let's just dive right in. Mallory, please tell me a little bit about yourself, what school you attend, what grade you're in, and your favorite subjects and then also, look, what do you enjoy doing outside of class?
MALLORY ENSING:: Hi, I'm Mallory Ensing. I'm a senior at Lake Ridge High School, and I'm president of Positive Psychology Club. Some of my favorite subjects are definitely English and history. I love writing, so another thing I'm very involved in at Lake Ridge is newspaper. I'm one of the editors of the Lake Ridge Newspacer.
And I really just enjoy writing, so it's [00:02:00] really across all those subjects that I get to do that. Outside of school related activities, I'm very involved in sports, so I'm varsity soccer captain for Lake Ridge Girls Soccer, and I'm also involved in a lot of volunteering through National Charity League, as well as being ASB activities director for Lake Ridge.
Speaker 3: Wow, you are busy. That's a lot to do. Could you share your personal experience with the Positive Psychology Club? That just sounds fantastic to me. What initially attracted you to it, and what aspects have you enjoyed the most?
Speaker 4: I joined Positive Psychology Club last year as a junior because one of my best friends, Kennedy Klein, started it.
She graduated this past year, and she was really the reason that I joined. The club was created and why I joined it. She created the club as kind of a way to just create this space during the school day to improve student mental health. But the reason that it's called positive psychology club is because of Kennedy's involvement in the AP psych program at Lake Ridge.
[00:03:00] So she just loved the psychology program with Ms. Chevlin and Mr. Provost, who is now retired, but she just got really connected to them. and the things they were teaching. So it's really a space where you can talk about psychology, homework, or focus on mental health. And as someone that's super passionate about mental health issues, it just really drew me in, but really it was just because of my relationship with Kennedy.
But then the mission of the club is what kept me super involved. That's great. Have there been challenges that you faced as a leader of this particular club? I would say no, honestly. I think that's kind of the beauty of this club. I'm involved in a lot of other things that are very high stress and high stakes, and this isn't one of those, and I think that's what makes it so special.
Like, it's truly passion driven, especially for me, but also for all the members. It's really just kind of a low key. space where we can just go to relax and recharge during the day. And I think in a time where students are under so [00:04:00] much pressure to be involved in so many things and just do so many things at once, it's one of the few things that kind of creates that nice balance.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. And you mentioned kind of your own passions and interests aligning with this. Is mental health something you're interested in studying in the future, or do you have some kind of connection with it?
Speaker 4: Yeah. So I would say I definitely have a passion for mental health issues because I've definitely struggled with mental health issues myself.
And that's part of the reason that Kennedy created the club as well. She's very open about her own struggles with her mental health. And it's honestly just like it hits on a very personal level because of myself and also just people I'm very close to in my life, whether it's family members or friends that have also experienced these struggles.
And I'm not necessarily planning to study psychology in my future, but as of now, I'm planning on studying anthropology, which is also very human centered and relates to like the interaction between people. So I think my background and focusing on mental health issues will be super helpful in that.[00:05:00]
Speaker 3: Absolutely. What are some of the key activities the club organizes to help students recharge during the school day and improve their own mental well being?
Speaker 4: So we have meetings at lunch every other Wednesday in Ms. Shevlin's room at Lakeridge and some of the things we do are honestly really simple. A lot of times it's just watching a movie or just like eating snacks with your friends, but other times we have more structured things where it's like, oh we're like having a conversation about mental health and making posters for around the school that like encourage students to understand that they're not alone.
So yeah, like last year we made A lot of posters that just would say things like, Oh, be kind to your mind, just little reminders for students. And I actually think that was one of our most impactful things because of those posters stayed up around the school all year. And I could like walk around our school and see them.
And it was just this kind of sweet reminder for like a little mental health boost throughout the day. But this year I [00:06:00] have some plans for other like new kinds of meetings. Last year, I would say it was like very low key and that was super super nice, but this year I want to kind of make it a little bit more structured.
So I'm planning on doing things like a tea party, for instance just like simple things like that where it's like fun and you can just be there with your friends and recharge. But then I'm also planning on bringing in some speakers from like Clackamas Women's Services or Youthline to talk about like more serious topics related to those issues.
So kind of creating that balance between like understanding the issues we're facing while also kind of combating them by just being light hearted.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. I can see where that would contribute to a more supportive and inclusive environment at Lake Ridge, and that's awesome that you're leading that work.
It sounds like you're planning a partnership with ASB for Mental Health Week in the spring. Can you tell us a little bit more about what you're planning? What impact do you hope this collaboration will have on the students at Lake Ridge?
Speaker 4: I am ASB activities director, which [00:07:00] is definitely a very beneficial position to be in because it allows me to get involved in some of the biggest events at our school.
So I believe for the past few years, Lake Ridge has had a mental health week, but last year was definitely the year that it was the biggest and I'd say the most impactful. So last year there were a few things we did as ASB, such as creating bracelets that had the number for the youth hotline that our students could call or.
Even just like simple things throughout the day, we did like donuts in the donut at Lake Ridge because the iconic donut that we walk around. Just little things to write in the days, which is kind of parallel to the mission of Positive Psych Club. But one of the biggest things that was done last year was kind of this general mental health vigil, I would say, was held at 6.
And that consisted of students getting the opportunity to just openly speak on experiences with mental health struggles. So, many students spoke on their own experiences or the experiences of family members, and [00:08:00] it was really just the students. This beautiful thing where people that didn't necessarily usually interact connected on a very emotional level and could kind of see that they weren't alone.
And that event, including the other ones I previously mentioned, are also going to happen this year in the spring. So we're bringing back all the things that happened, but I believe we're probably going to add stuff as well, just because of how successful Mental Health Week was last year. So I'll be working as an ASB member on Mental Health Week, but I have volunteered Positive Psych Club to have kind of a partnership in that.
So my goal is to hopefully do things every day with that. We don't have a ton of details since it's all the way out in the spring, but I would like to have Positive Psych focus on teacher mental health. So, whereas ASB focuses so widely on, like, student mental health, I think, like, that's great for ASB to focus on, and I'm, like, happy to focus on that as Activities Director, but I'd love to focus more on improving teacher mental health, or really just improving awareness of teacher [00:09:00] mental health, whether that be making cards for them, or just bringing flowers, which we actually did as Positive Psych last year as well.
We just brought flowers to teachers, and we're like, we see you, like, we recognize that you're not alone. Just kind of reminding them that students are going through a lot of the same struggles that they are and like we see the work they're putting in to show up for us every day despite those struggles.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that is fantastic. And I bet they really appreciate you thinking of them, too. I think sometimes our teachers get lost in the shuffle because we spend so much time making sure our kids are okay. And I think health and resiliency and our board missions and goals have a lot to do with not only student health resiliency, but also teachers.
So that's great that you're bringing that to the forefront. How do you envision this club growing and evolving in the future? I mean, I know you're the president this year, but you will be graduating and moving on. And then how do you set the tone to make sure it continues at Lakeridge after you leave?
Speaker 4: I definitely have thought about the future because I will be graduating.[00:10:00]
We do have a lot of younger students involved in the club. We currently have a lot of juniors as well as a lot of sophomores. I'm working on the freshmen. But, Honestly, I'm not too worried about the club continuing and growing just because it's a very unique club in that it's really just like there to help you.
It's not there to provide you more stress or like more work. It's just kind of this place to recharge. And it's very low stakes. Like if you don't feel like going to a meeting one week, you don't have to like no one, no one's requiring you to be there. It's really just for your own benefit. And so I think in that regard, I'm really just looking forward to the future because I don't think that the club.
We'll struggle to continue membership or continue involvement. That's great.
Speaker 3: You kind of mentioned bringing in guest speakers and have you thought about organizing any Fundraisers for local mental health organizations and then how would that how could that benefit our students and our staff? And the kind of the [00:11:00] wider Lakeridge community
Speaker 4: One of the things I've been working on planning is bringing in a speaker from youth line, which is a local student hotline where students Students can talk to students about their own mental health issues.
And so my thought with that is that if we have a speaker come in, they can maybe encourage students to join the board that actually serves the line. And that's a very big commitment. So I'm not expecting every member of positive psych club to join youth line, but, but I think it'd be a great opportunity to like get that awareness out there.
And even if people don't necessarily want to be on youth line and like be on help run the line, they can at least become aware of it, because I think a lot of students just don't even know that resource is available to them. And in that regard, just like, honestly, with any speaker I bring in, I think it's mostly just about awareness.
I've thought about bringing someone from Clackamas Women's Services, which also has a connection with YouthLine, and they've come into our classes at school before, and that's just been super helpful, and students [00:12:00] becoming aware of the resources that are available to them, whether or not they end up using them, but just knowing they're there.
Speaker 3: And there are a ton of resources in Clackamas County. And so I think it's great just to get those out there for students to use when they need them and know how to get ahold of people who can help them and support them. So in closing, is there anything else you'd like to add to give out to all of our listeners who are interested in positive psychology?
Speaker 4: I think I would just say, remember to focus on your mental health and in doing so, also consider the mental health of those around you. I think that's what makes our club really special. It's about recharging during the day, but doing it as a community. And I think there's a lot of beauty in that.
Speaker 3: Well, thank you so much for being here today.
Good luck with everything you're planning and let us know if we can support you at all.
Speaker 4: Yeah, thank you so much.
Speaker 3: Welcome to the show, Arjun. Please tell us a little bit about yourself. What school you go to, what grade you're in, your favorite subjects, what you like to do outside of class.
Speaker 5: My name is [00:13:00] Arjun Ramakrishnan.
I'm a junior at Lake Oswego High School. My favorite subject in class, I would say, is AP Econ with Mr. Isaac. He makes it really engaging, it's a lot of fun. He gives us images, he shows video clips, and you know, he makes it really interesting, gives us a lot of practice so that we can really comprehend the material, and I have a lot of fun in that class.
on the topic of what I do outside of school. I play Varsity Water Polo, actually, for LO. And I also like to do Model UN, and I teach Speech and Debate at the middle school.
Speaker 3: Wow, you are busy! I read an article last year about you in The Review that I was just in awe of, and I, I, reached out to you right away and said, I'd love to have you on the podcast.
And so that's kind of what got me interested in you. But maybe you could talk a little bit about what initially sparked your interest in investing and financial literacy. And how did that lead to finding or founding the LOHS chapter of Young Investor Society.
ARJUN RAMAKRISHNAN:: I started investing back in eighth grade, that was when I made my [00:14:00] first trades.
And they were pretty terrible, actually. I, I got on the, the investing, the Investopedia stock simulator, and I looked at some graphs, and I was like, oh yeah, this is going upwards, I should probably put some money into that. Terrible way to do that, and I learned that the hard way. I lost a lot of my, you know, fake currency, and it, I learned from that experience, but I was definitely still interested in trying to get better at this.
And so I asked my dad, how do I do this? You know, how do I make my trades count, and how do I make actual money? And he taught me about this whole section of investing theory called value investing that was proposed by the great investor Warren Buffett, who you guys might have heard of. And he actually suggests that we can beat the market by looking for companies with good values.
And I loved it. I was pretty hooked and I tried my best to do that. And I was looking for more resources later on in around sophomore year for me to practice my skills at value investing. And I was kind of shocked that I didn't find any investing, value investing clubs at our school. [00:15:00] And I knew that there must be people like me out there who want to learn about it.
But when I looked, I couldn't find anything nearby. I'm sure there was DECA and FBLA, like those sorts of clubs, but None of them were targeted to what I cared about value investing. So I, you know, did a little bit of poking around, looked and discovered this organization, Young Investor Society, YIS, and they were really good because they came to us with the material, the videos and the slideshows that I could talk about, the topics I could cover.
They had it out there already and it made it as easy as just signing up to start a chapter and it was done. You know, and I did that and here we are. We have a Lake Oswego chapter and I'm looking to get a Lake Ridge chapter going. So it's going really well so far.
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. Now, I've heard you mentioned before that a successful stock pitch isn't just about numbers, but it's also about telling a story.
Can you explain how you use storytelling in your pitches and why it's important for engaging your audience?
Speaker 5: To start, I'm [00:16:00] actually a really big fan of this big value investing professor. His name is Ashwat Damodaran. He teaches at NYU in the Stern School of Business. All his courses are on YouTube, by the way, and so you can learn about that.
He actually is a big, big proponent of the idea that investing is as much of an art as it is a science. And we have to connect the idea that we can't attack our people. We can't attack the people who we are pitching to with numbers. We can't just you know, throw a bunch of numbers at them and expect them to understand what we're talking about.
We have to give them a story. So if I started telling you, Oh, I believe in Microsoft, it has this PE ratio, it has this share price, you know, they're trading at this much, they're, you know, their earnings last year was this, it corresponded to this much growth, they have this much revenue. It makes no sense.
There's no connection. You'd be like, wow, that's great. There's large numbers. Why should I put my money behind this? First off, you'd say what do those numbers mean? And you'd say, why is it significant that those numbers are large or small? And it wouldn't really be a cohesive pitch. But if I told you instead, Microsoft was early to open AI, you know, and we can see [00:17:00] the benefit of that when they invested in open AI, they're now able to integrate open AI services into their products, those products, we already see the benefits of that.
For example, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft word, they all actually already have AI functions through their copilot. Right? And on top of that, Microsoft has a strong brand and strong consumer stickiness. Meaning that consumers are hard to switch away from their products. And you can see that in your everyday life.
When you use a product from Microsoft, you're using probably that Microsoft Office suite of products. You know, using that Excel, Word, all of those, those things. On top of that, when Microsoft gives a corporation a license, they give it through that Office 365 license. So, instead of just offering you one product, I'm offering you everything, and now you can use all my products.
I've got you hooked now. And that's unique to Microsoft, that they're really good at that. And now, I've told you the whole story of Microsoft. On top of that, Microsoft has very, very much been committed to DEI and climate change activity. So now I'm bringing on all of these emotions and [00:18:00] ideas and bring that into my pitch.
And now, if I supplement that with numbers, I can actually give a much more strong pitch. Pitch that involves storytelling and you the investor are more likely to put your hard earned money behind someone who you can connect with
Speaker 3: Absolutely, and I think our listeners right now are hearing exactly why I wanted to have you on the show Pretty amazing and and you were the first You were the first student from Oregon to compete at the Global Youth Investment Summit last year, which is the article I was talking about.
That's where I first learned about your skill set. Can you walk us through your experience with what that looks like? How was the competition? I know you just kind of talked a little bit about your Microsoft pitch, but how did you approach the research and analysis for that?
Speaker 5: To talk about the competition, it was definitely kind of scary and daunting to be the only person from Oregon going to a conference like this, a global conference like this, in a city like New York, right?
How I went there, you know, the first time and it was kind of, it was definitely very frightening and you know that there's people there who seem like they know a lot [00:19:00] more about everything than you do and you feel a lot behind. And you don't have a precedent before you to talk with and give you guidance.
But for that reason, I wanted to make sure I chose a company that was, you know very well established that I could easily defend with my claims. So I didn't reach too far and actually get myself trapped in a hole, you know? So I decided Microsoft because they have about. 20 to 25 years of data actually available for the public domain.
Just so easily. You can find their balance sheets, their earnings statements, all those things. You can find all of that online very quickly. And you can find it not just for like two or three years, which is what would happen if I picked maybe a younger company that had just gone public, but I can find it for 20, 25 years.
They've been through a bunch of market cycles too. They've been through that boom and bust of the. com era. They've been through the 2008 recession. So they've survived all these, their strong company on top of that. They're one of the magnificent seven movers of the market. And all these factors really made me realize that Microsoft is a strong enough company that I should pick that for my first ever pitch.
And [00:20:00] when it came to analysis, I did a ground up valuation, and that's the type of valuation where we split the product segment. So all the products have Microsoft. Actually offers to public. I segmented that into three parts and with those three sorts of buckets, I was able to forecast using data from the past, which is where the whole available data kicks in.
I was able to forecast compounded annual growth rates out for these segments out for the next 10 years, and that was based on the past five years of data, which is, yeah, really important for Microsoft's availability in the public domain. And then I projected those out and I came with revenue estimations.
For the next 10 years where I was able to plug them into a discounted cashflow analysis and come up with an expected share price in the future. And it actually turns out that we were pretty much on the money. So I predicted it when I was at around 375 trading, trading at that share price. Recently they peaked at 468.
So it just goes to show you that the methodology behind value investing [00:21:00] and looking at the discounted cashflow really works.
Speaker 3: Just reminding everyone, this is a junior at L. O. High School. He's smarter than most of the adults I know. But one thing I find kind of fascinating, and I think it's a topic on a lot of educators heads right now, is A.
I. You kind of mentioned OpenAI a little bit, but how do you see A. I. shaping the stock market and investment strategies in the coming years?
Speaker 5: A. I. is as we said, let's take a look at just the Microsoft example for now, and I'll go on later into the other industries, but for just for Microsoft, Their early investment of 1 billion valued at 1 billion of cash and Azure infrastructure credits, that's now valued at 37 billion.
So that's a return on their investment of 37 X. And that right there, just, we're talking about just Microsoft. That's just an individual company. That's a 37 X return on investment. But now let's bring that into other industries, right? Cause when we talk about the market, we talk about industries working together, being combined into a whole.
So let's just look at the it defense industry, the it [00:22:00] security industry. They have used AI to revolutionize the way they predict the tax. So AI is now predicting weak points in their attacks. You know, AI will launch a fake attack and tell you, okay, right here, that's something that can be easily broken through.
That right there, that's, you know, we need a firewall, there's some sort of protection there. So that they can't be easily attacked by, by cyberattacks. They can't be easily taken advantage of by cyberattacks. And in the media industry, social media industry, let's take a look at that. So, the goal of marketing has always been to market a product to an individual, right?
And in the past, we weren't able to do that. We were just segmenting people into chunks, okay, you know? graduate degree, mom, you know, has dogs, has kids, probably would like this product, but there's about 10, 000, 20, 000, maybe even hundreds of thousands of people that fit that market. And I don't know for sure that you're going to buy that.
But now, as people say, when I start talking about, Oh, I love ice cream cake, you know, my next ad on Instagram or something that is about ice cream cake. And you say, Oh, [00:23:00] that's scary. No, that's AI. That's AI actually right there targeting you individually. With, with the AI capacity that, that these algorithms now have, and you're seeing the application, they've achieved the goal of marketing right there.
So they have marketed a product that they know you have searched for that you are highly likely to buy, or at least take a strong interest in. And what does that translate to? That translates that they will have a lot more to offer either companies that are trying to advertise or people who are trying to buy things that they like.
There's a lot more to offer. And always value investing suggests that. When your company has more to offer, it'll be reflected in the share price. And we can see that happening. I'm sure that AI will be a driver in the market.
Speaker 3: That is brilliant. You know, you've kind of mentioned also Model UN, which I know you're interested in.
So in addition to investing, what have you learned from Model UN when you're considering different perspectives? And how has that experience influenced the way you analyze companies or present your stock pitches? [00:24:00]
Speaker 5: So when I compete in Model UN, it has always been about looking to analyze different perspectives, right?
And whenever I produce a resolution and I, you know, propose that we should take this plan, I'm already thinking about what the other countries will say against it, especially because last conference, for example, I was the United States of America in the economics committee. So when I proposed a tariff against other countries or something like that, then suddenly I'm going to get a lot of opposition and I have to predict the opposition and prepare that.
I know that there's going to be two sides to this argument. There's never going to be an argument that's just one sided. All the evidence supports one thing. So I have to be ready for the opposition and I have to be ready to either tear that down or make it like less significant. So in the investing world, in the stock pitching world, specifically, I have to be able to take it, take into consideration all the perspectives.
And I do that by doing a full risk evaluation. So when I pitched Microsoft, I included about five to six risks. That investors should be concerned of because I'm always questioning whether or not [00:25:00] this is actually the best investment for the people and you want to give someone a full comprehensive review before they put their hard earned money into something.
You want to make sure that they're aware that there are risks because with investing, there are always risks. So, for example, with Microsoft, the example I've been giving for so long, Microsoft, they have obviously invested heavily in OpenAI, but what if AI is just a fad? I'm not saying it's highly likely, but it's possible.
It's always a possibility that AI is just sort of, you know, a passing thing. And, you I don't ever say it's highly likely, it's not a thing. It's a possibility, though. It is a risk. And AI can also easily be integrated into younger companies. It's very easy to switch your whole product basis and everything that you're doing when you're a younger company and not as an established company.
So that's also a threat. And you have to keep that completely in mind, all of this in mind. and give someone a comprehensive review of your company when you when you pitch.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, and you're, you may or may not be aware of this, but the state of Oregon now made a requirement for financial literacy in our schools.
And so we [00:26:00] are embedding financial literacy in our classes at the high school. I'm just curious if you have a thought on what do you think are the most important skills for young people to learn about financial literacy? And then even more complex could be, what do you think they should know about investing?
Speaker 5: They should know. To be curious and to be humble, and I'll explain a little bit about that. So, to be curious means, whenever I make a claim, Okay, Microsoft is going to rise by this much. I need to know why, you know? Why is Microsoft going to rise by that much? Oh, I believe Microsoft's going to rise by this much because of their investment with OpenAI.
Well, why is that significant and why is that unique to Microsoft? So I want to exhaust as much resources I have available to me and find really as digging as deep as possible and really, really find the root answer. And being humble is going to tie in here because when I look for my root answer, I'm going to find evidence that goes against my claim.
And eventually, if I really believe that my claim has been disproven, I have to be [00:27:00] able to correct or completely change my hypothesis. That's what comes in to being humble. So be curious and be humble when you invest.
Speaker 3: That was very good advice for everyone. Obviously you have a huge interest in equity researching.
How does that shape your future career or academic pursuits? Where are you going to go with all of this?
Speaker 5: I really hope to study economics, maybe at a prestigious university, maybe I'll get the chance to meet Ashwat Damodaran, you know, at NYU, something like that. I'd love to study at a prestigious university like that, economics.
Specifically because economics for me is a mixture of, you know, psychology, math, social sciences, social studies, all of that stuff. And they happen to combine. In a field that I'm really interested, they have a unique application in finance. So I want to use my study of mathematical economics to create models that predict.
Future prices and I want to get better at that and take that skill into the professional world.
Speaker 3: That's great. I [00:28:00] think we should Send this show to him when when it drops and maybe that will help give you a little leg up in your application So thank you so much for being here today in just in closing What advice would you give to other students who are interested in learning about investing or starting their own financial literacy clubs at their high schools?
Speaker 5: As for starting your own club, I'd really like it if you guys reached out to me. Please reach out to me, actually. I'd love to help you guys get started, especially if you're in the Portland metro area or Oregon in general. I'm already working with Lake Ridge to get a club set up there, and I'm working with YIS on their student advisory board, so we could totally get you started with any resources.
Even if you're not in the Oregon area, I can connect you with the people who can help you there, so there's definitely a lot of resources available for you. All you have to do is take the initiative to reach out to me or the YIS organization. And when it comes to advice, I would point you back to the two things I mentioned earlier about being curious and being humble.
I think those are really really important. But one more thing that you should be aware of is not to focus [00:29:00] on short term trends when you're investing. Don't be distraught if your money loses a bit of value in the short term. Because in the long term, we're talking about a lot of growth. We're talking about larger percent growth and returns.
So Make sure you're not following the herd in the short term, and follow your own research, and do your own homework.
Speaker 3: Arjun, I think you are amazing and I know you're going to do big things in your life. I don't want you to forget about the little people like your superintendent when you're running the world.
Come back and see me sometime, but thank you again for being here on the show and good luck to you. Let us know how we can help support you.
Speaker 6: Thank you. very much. I'm really appreciative of this opportunity.
Speaker 2: Wow. Thank you so much, both of you, Mallory and Arjun, for being here. I think I speak for everyone when I say how impressive and interesting, and I love everything that you're doing at our schools and outside of school.
I'm really looking forward to watching you grow and see what happens in your future. Before [00:30:00] we wrap up, Jen, can you tell us a little bit about what's coming up in the next couple weeks in our
Speaker 3: community? Absolutely. In January, we start planning for the next school year. Already, I know. Online student registration opens on January 22nd.
That same evening, from 6 p. m. to 7 p. m., we host Kindergarten Counts at all of our LOSD neighborhood schools. These open houses offer parents and guardians of children entering kindergarten in fall of 2025 a chance to learn about our educational philosophy, curriculum, extracurricular programs, child care options, and other supports that promote academic and social emotional success.
All incoming kindergartens need to register at their neighborhood school. For those interested in our Language Immersion Program at Palisades World Language School, applications open in February. But registering first at your neighborhood school is still required. In addition, our middle and high schools We'll be hosting open houses, providing wonderful opportunities for families to connect with [00:31:00] principals, teachers, and other families to get a closer look at our district's exceptional educational programs and services.
They're always super fun nights for our entire community. They are, they're really
Speaker 2: exciting just seeing people in the anticipation in January getting excited for the next school year. That's it for today's episode of Learning in Lake Oswego. Next time we are going to have our first repeat guest, Mr.
Stuart Ketzler, joining us. We're going to be talking about the Public Employees Retirement System, otherwise known as PERS.
Speaker 3: Until then, keep exploring and stay engaged. Class dismissed.
Speaker: We hope you found this episode informative and helpful. While our discussions are general, we understand each family's experience is unique.
If you have specific questions about your child, please contact your school principal. To learn more about the topics we discussed, [00:32:00] Ask a question or share ideas for future episodes, please visit LOSDSchools. org. And remember to like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for engaging with Learning in Lake Oswego.
We appreciate your support and look forward to having you with us for our next episode.