An idea that began as a campus business club recently catapulted a group of local high school students onto the world financial stage.
Liberty Capital, a Parish Episcopal School investment team, placed in the top 50 out of more than 6,300 teams from around the world who registered for the Wharton Global High School Investment Competition, which is the largest of its kind.
Acting on his passion for finance and investment strategy, Parish junior Daniel Liu pitched the idea for creating a club to upper school administrators in 2023 during his freshman year.
Since then, it has expanded from a single group into three competitive teams.
Over the past three years, Liu has worked on a plan for entering the youth investment competition with faculty advisors Cathy Morris and Fallon Ahern of the upper school mathematics department and upper school English teacher and Writing Lab director Jason Mazzella.
Liu’s Liberty Capital teammates, including senior Luke Moresco, junior Jacob Gebhart, and sophomore Pragati Vinothkumar, refined their strategy in the school’s Writing Lab.
“Since I’m not a finance specialist, I routinely asked (Daniel) to explain the team’s strategy as if I were a fourth grader — the same thing I ask my own financial advisor to do,” Mazzella said. “From those explanations, I pressed with questions ranging from the math to the ethical considerations. (They) made thoughtful use of resources, sought guidance from trusted teachers, and didn’t simply accept advice at face value.”
For Moresco, the competition has offered valuable insight into the world of finance and the importance of teamwork.
“Our success so far could not have been achieved without the effort of each of us, and I’m certain that missing one person would have been detrimental,” he said.
Gebhart echoed his teammate’s sentiment.
“What started as a full-suited audition over Zoom, quickly developed into a grand adventure through the world of finance. This whole experience has been a blast, and I couldn’t have done it without my group members,” he said.
For Vinothkumar, the youngest member of the team, the process was both challenging and rewarding.
“As someone who didn’t initially have much experience in finance … I’ve learned a great deal about portfolio construction, diversification, and how to evaluate investments more thoughtfully,” she said.
Advancing through the competition, the students’ hard work led them to success, and the teammates made some fun memories along the way.
“One of my favorite parts of the experience was filming our presentation video on the football field, where Daniel kicked the ball straight through the uprights on his first try,” said Vinothkumar.
“It was a fun moment, especially in contrast to the near all-nighter we pulled that same night.”
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