Whiz Kid: Shawn Hughes

This week’s Whiz Kid is Shawn Hughes, an all-around whiz who loves playing the clarinet and several sports, including basketball, soccer and track.

Whiz Kid: Shawn Hughes

Whiz Kid’s Age: 13             

Whiz Kid’s School: Washington Middle

Whiz Kid’s Year in School: Outgoing 7th grader

Whiz Kid’s Accomplishment: Received state recognition in the Duke University Talent Identification Program (TIP) and finished first in the regional division in the Missouri Stock Market Game.

Whiz Kid’s Key to Awesomeness: Shawn Hughes has multiple talents, making it difficult to pinpoint what, exactly, makes him so awesome. Perhaps it’s his ability to crunch numbers (his favorite class is math) or play musical scales (on his beloved clarinet). Or maybe it’s his research skills that led him to suggest that his team purchase Coca-Cola stock, which was down when they bought it but then launched into a steady uptick. His stock pick helped his team finish first in the region and fifth out of 742 teams in the state during the Missouri Stock Market Game.

While Hughes learned a lot about picking stocks, he doesn’t plan on purchasing stocks with real money. “[Picking stocks] is too much of a risk,” Hughes said.

Although Hughes probably won’t be seen on Wall Street any time soon, he does aim to become an architect. Perhaps he’ll design a world-famous brokerage or bank.