Thursday, October 1, 2026
Members of the Hewlett High School Stock Market Club added to their recent success in the national Stock Market Game, as senior Eilon Bober-Tsafrir and sophomore Mason O’Hare took first and third place on Long Island, respectively.
The game is administered by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to improving financial literacy in students since 1977.
The online simulation takes place twice per year, in the fall and spring, engaging students in fourth grade through high school and familiarizes them with global capital markets in preparation for financially independent futures. Bober-Tsafrir and O’Hare were two of the 4,276 participants in the Long Island region.
“The nature of the game is extremely competitive,” Bober-Tsafrir, 17, said. “You have to invest in volatile stocks and understand how they populate” — a trader’s term for when a stock becomes visible with its data or shares in a system.
Students have to think like real traders during a 90-day competition window. Each contestant starts with $100,000 in virtual seed money, and is tasked with maximizing the growth of his or her account.
Bober-Tsafrir has taken part in the game since his freshman year. Last fall, he managed to increase his portfolio by nearly 61 percent, dueling for the top prize on Long Island with a student from Great Neck North High School. Bober-Tsafrir spent a lot of time looking at chart patterns, he said, researching stocks that could “shoot up 100 percent in a day.”
Bober-Tsafrir, who is president of the school’s Business and Marketing Honor Society, always encourages his classmates to get involved in the game and investing. He reminds them “the failures are steppingstones to success.”
“I think it’s very important to help kids invest during their time in the club,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to help the students feel comfortable investing, and give them the tools to be successful.”
“Eilon is fantastic,” Stock Market Club Adviser Jared Pittelli, who has taught business education at the high school for 16 years, said of Bober-Tsafrir. “Loves to participate and ask questions. He’s very motivated.” Before the game ended on Dec. 12, Bober-Tsafrir told Pittelli, “I’m going to win.”
“It was a culmination of the last four years,” Bober-Tsafrir said. “I saw a path to winning.”
The 15-year old O’Hare’s path to the top was different. He eventually grew his account by nearly $24,000, moving up and down in the regional standings after starting out strong. He finished eighth in the state but third on L.I and, Pittelli said, he was focused “like usual.”
“He’s very outgoing,” Pittelli said of O’Hare, whom he has taught previously. “He’s a pleasure to teach.”
Success in the Stock Market Game is nothing new to the district, especially in the past three years. Bober-Tsafrir became the third Hewlett High Stock Market Club winner to finish first in the state, joining alumni Joshua Sepe — who won three times in 2023 and 2024 — and Jacob Yamen, who won in the fall of 2024.
Part of club members’ success stems from Pittelli’s “help, don’t show” approach with his 50 members, which, he said, encourages students to become independent thinkers and stock analysts.
“The curriculum students learn in the classroom, group discussion, my discussion, and how much research they do on their own contribute to their success,” he said.
Pittelli wants students to understand what’s happening in the market, and how it can influence both the game and their real-life investments. “I want students to think about how all the news that comes out can impact businesses positively and negatively,” he said. “We’re looking at a three-month window. Is this something that will be good right now?”
In a statement, the district praised Bober-Tsafrir and O’Hare, saying it was proud to celebrate their performance. “Congratulations to Eilon and Mason on this impressive achievement, and for representing Hewlett-Woodmere with excellence,” the statement read.
As the spring competition approaches, Bober-Tsafrir said he wants to work with younger students to make them savvy investors. “I try to help students understand the stock market outside the context of the game,” he explained. “I want to help give them the tools to be successful, so that it follows with them.”
