The integral symbols that litter the whiteboard fade as the company stock ticker, revealing the percentage change of the price of the stock, flickers across the computer screen, and the stock price flashes green. After a few clicks on his mouse, it finally happens: Evan Matvey (12) just made one of his biggest trades in stock. In a swirl of unbridled happiness and disbelief, he resolves himself to buy a new pair of shoes in celebration as he turns back to the half scribbled integral in his notebook. 

Evan was inspired by his brother-in-law to delve into the world of investing. He began his journey by reading finance books to develop a sense of pattern recognition and strategy. He quickly developed a library of knowledge that helped him make informed investing decisions that ignited his interest. 

“I found that there was so much more to investing, so it basically turned into my passion,” Evan said. “People oversimplify finance a little bit. It’s really easy to buy low, sell high, but there’s many different types of investing. There’s so many factors that a lot of people ignore, like a priced-in or fallacy. For example, people think Apple is releasing something new, so the stock is going to go up, but in reality, it’s already priced into the stock, so anything that would be good news is already accounted for. There’s a lot of intricacies.”

Evan’s progress and achievements infuse a sense of pride and confidence in him as an investor while also fueling his appetite for new knowledge and improvement. Om Tandon (12) recalls fondly the conversations that they have about Evan’s passion for investing. 

“He’s naturally gifted in investing,” Om said. “It’s something that really comes naturally to him and luckily, he’s found a passion in it too. He can really go far in that area and with the confidence he has, he’s definitely someone that I see being really successful.”

To buttress his abilities in investing, Evan took various economics and business related courses. Upper school business and entrepreneurship teacher Samuel Lepler, who taught Evan in his AP Economics class, praises Evan’s unique adaptability and curiosity in pursuing new knowledge in every aspect of the subject. 

“I see him use what we learn immediately,” Lepler said. “He already had that interest, and he was already exploring a lot of the extracurricular aspects of economics. When we would study something in class, like monopolies or whatnot, he immediately could apply it all in his investing decisions, which is so cool. That’s the whole point of what I do is to be able to use it. Not on the AP or on a test, but in life.”

Evan strives to unveil each concept that he encounters to its entirety. Simply learning a formula or accepting a presented fact is not enough for him. His learning is punctuated by his desire to learn all of the intricacies of a subject. Lead by his curiosity, he engages in thought-provoking conversations with his teachers. 

“I would definitely describe myself as argumentative,” Evan said. “I tend to speak out a lot and be loud. Some teachers may teach something they know is 100% correct, but if I don’t understand it, I’ll question it or ask about it. Basically, I don’t believe people just because they say it’s true.”

In addition to investing and academics, Evan carves out time for meaningful relationships with friends. His interpersonal relationships are one of his top priorities. They help him distance himself from overthinking some of his struggles which allows him to learn to prioritize the important things. 

“Coming as a freshman, there was a big difference from my middle school,” Evan said. “I’m proud of myself for the relationships I’ve been able to build. We have a rule at our lunch table ‘no college talk’. It’s refreshing. My friends detach me from all the stress and everything. It’s  nice to have people we can talk to.”

Through self-improvement, he wants people to understand him genuinely and to form authentic friendships. Evan takes responsibility to ensure that he takes time to build meaningful connections alongside pursuing his passions and his work. 

“Evan’s very committed to his work and his relationships,” close friend Ian Ogden (12) said. “He’s very hardworking. He works hard in stock and investing, and he’s really good at what he does. He also has a really funny personality, so there’s two sides to him. He’s smart and he gets the work done, but you can also have fun with him.”

Evan utilizes his witty personality and resourcefulness to gain the best out of the environment around him. Whether he is working on his investment portfolio or bantering with his friends, Evan strides towards each of his goals with a light-hearted and confident attitude. He continues to set higher goals for himself to constantly improve.

“Overall, I feel like I need to be achieving something,” Evan said. “It’s the feeling you get after you study for a test and you have a bunch of tabs that you can close. I remember when I came in freshman year, I was nervous, and I thought if I didn’t know things, people would be condescending, but a lot of people want to work together. You need to put yourself out there and try to make connections with people you didn’t expect you’d make connections with.”