Financial Economics and Social Computing major in the Mount’s cITe program Jeffery Rennekamp has created a space for Mount students to develop a better understanding of the stock market.
Jeffery, better known as “JJ,” is the founder and president of MSJUSIF (Mount St. Joseph University Student Investment Fund). MSJUSIF is a club which, as JJ explains, aims to provide education to all students curious and interested in/about the stock market.
The initial moment that set JJ on his journey of creating MSJUSIF was a conversation with his dad and his dad’s cousin - A wealth manager, who asked JJ if there was a finance club at the Mount. “I was advised by him to start one, and later told by my dad to start one,” says JJ. “So I did.” In addition to this inspiration, JJ felt a personal conviction to start MSJUSIF. “I wanted a place to talk about and learn about the stock market with other students and get some real-world practice or learning on investing,” he explains.
Getting MSJUSIF off the ground was not without its challenges. JJ describes some of these challenges.
“The biggest challenge that I faced at the beginning of MSJUSIF was membership and membership retention,” says JJ. As a new club, finding people who are not only interested in joining the club, but who are actually wanting and able to stay in the club, proved to be a challenge. Managing MSJUIF also proved to be a challenge for JJ at first. “In the beginning, I was scared to start the meeting because of all of the side conversations that were going on that I would have had to cut off,” he says. “Then on top of that, I would constantly look for other people to jump into the conversation, and I would not want to hand out tasks to members in fear of them wanting to leave the club.”
However, JJ adapted to these challenges, and MSJUSIF has been able to continue and expand as a result. For the issue of membership, JJ explains that the other members of the club and himself drew interest to the club with a pizza party and guest speakers. JJ also grew more comfortable with his role in managing the club with time and experience. “My confidence has changed,” he states.
The moment that JJ became the president of MSJUSIF was incredibly fulfilling. The voting was conducted on an online poll that started on a Thursday and ended on a Monday night, with the news to be announced on the following afternoon. “At the meeting, it was announced, and there was a cheer,” JJ recalls proudly. “I felt a sense of pride that I hadn't had in a long time.”
Looking at what he has accomplished with MSJUSIF, JJ reflects on his achievements: “I have seen the club grow from an idea in my mind to a group of people that I would like to now call friends, learning and developing into better business people.”
The small size of the Mount made this accomplishment especially rewarding for JJ. “The sheer size of the mount (or perhaps the lack of size) makes it vastly different than doing something similar at an OSU, UC, OU, ETC,” he explains. “I see people I know, and they already know the good news, and so do people around me, like a random passerby.” With the Mount’s small size, good news gets around quick and celebrations are plentiful. JJ is also thankful to the Mount for supporting him through his journey of creating and becoming president of MSJUSIF.
“The Mount supported me through this journey by allowing me to be late to my volleyball practices to make sure that I could conduct my meetings effectively without rushing,” he says. JJ also thanks the faculty advisors of MSJUSIF for their handling of the club’s election,“The faculty advisors of the club let the campaigning of the students run itself to ensure a fair election.”
As a word of advice to all fellow students at the Mount with ambitions to do something spectacular, JJ says, “Strive for your goals and take a chance or many chances if necessary, do not think with what ifs, because you will never know how people will react and what the turnout will be unless you try!”
With his sights set forward, JJ hopes that MSJUSIF is able to grow in membership. “We would love to see this grow in the next year,” he says on behalf of his fellow club members.
If you’re interested in learning more about or joining MSJUSIF, don’t hesitate to shoot an email to JJ at Jeffery.Rennekamp@msj.edu!
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Have an interest in Participating in Esports, like JJ?
Our student-athletes in the Esports program compete in Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Valorant, Madden NFL, and Fortnite. Freshmen who are enrolled full-time and participate in Esports practices, team workouts, and competitive events can earn a $2,000 scholarship. Check out more info here.
In photo: JJ playing competitive gaming during Esports competition.