Hello, my name is Ben Gault. I’m a junior at North Dakota State University in Fargo. I grew up in Sartell Minnesota, a town a few miles north of St. Cloud. It was a great place to grow up. I have an older brother that is six years older than me. In high school I loved to be involved: I was a member of student council, a big brother in the big brother big sister program, a thrower on the track and field team and played guard in football. Nowadays when I’m not attending class or studying: I like to hunt, fish, lift weights, cook, watch movies and play card games.
I am a second-year junior at NDSU and I’m majoring in finance. I chose NDSU because my brother and several other relatives went to school here, and they loved it. I never even toured NDSU before attending. I had seen it so much visiting my older brother that I knew I would like it. During my freshman year I fit right in and several clubs and play a few intramural sports.
When I graduate, I hope to get a job as a loan officer. As a loan officer I’ll be evaluating commercial, real estate or credit loans. I think I’d like this position because I will get to deal with customers on a daily basis and determine if they qualify for a loan based on credit worthiness and the market. I also like the idea of working in a very professional environment such as a bank. My past job experience has been manual labor and food service. I’d like to use my brain instead of my back to make money and have a career.
According to Fox 31 Denver, a bill has been filed in South Carolina that would require high school students to take a personal finance class. I wish I was required to take a class like that. I first became interested in finance while in high school. It started out of necessity when I got my first job and didn’t know how to open a bank account, get a debit card, or even fill out a check. I started to do research and found out how much I didn’t know about personal finance, it was intimidating. Since then I’ve learned so much. I’ve even started investing in stocks as well as created a retirement fund for myself.
According to marketwatch.com the current stock market is having is biggest start to the year in 13 years. This is a somewhat calming sight after the end of 2018 being punishing to investors. The end of last year has been the worst decline since the recession in 2008. From its large decline to this year’s promising start, it’s disheartening to see such volatility in the markets. One thing that’s making investors uneasy is the current government shutdown. Which is the longest in Unites States history.
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