After ringing the New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell last year, we were invited back to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the Closing Bell this year, celebrating our 25th Anniversary. Since the Closing Bell Ceremony is in the afternoon, we were able to bring our students this time! Please see below for some words from Ethan, one of our 8th graders, on his thoughts of participating in the ceremony.
My experience at the New York Stock Exchange was amazing and much better than I expected. When I entered the grand building, I was greeted by many familiar faces. I was also given a cool magnetic name plate. A few minutes later, I was brought into a massive room with computers, big TV screens, and hundreds of people who were buying, selling and trading stocks of all sorts. I, along with a few more lucky students were taken up a fleet of stairs to the “balcony” where the golden bell was situated. Suddenly the glorious sound of the bell resonated throughout the giant room as people began to clap, holler and shake hands of others.
I waited on that balcony for a while to take in everything that had just occurred, before I was escorted to another room with food and refreshments. The pastries were delectable. I was given a NYSE token before it was finally time to return to school. If I had the opportunity to go there again, I would most definitely take it.
