The journey of our finance program...

My name is Marc Rudajev. Many of you may know me as a math teacher, others as a finance prof, some even as a soccer and tennis coach. Many of you may not know me at all. As you can see, I wear many hats here at Milken as do most of my colleagues around campus. This is my 7th year at the school, and in addition to all of these formal responsibilities I am also the parent of a 12th grader who is graduating in a couple of weeks and will soon become an empty nester. Fret not, I am certain that Milken will find other ways to keep me busy with all my newfound additional free time!

Prior to coming to Milken I had an entire 1st career in finance and investing. Eventually I made the decision to try to help people in a different way, by trading in that career for the more fulfilling one of becoming a teacher. 

This brings me to one of the first unique aspects about Milken. Milken’s willingness to take calculated risks and embrace unique individuals all with the primary goal of enhancing the school and it’s scholars learning environment. 

I’d like to share a specific example of how Milken is willing to respond to the needs and desires of its community and how unique it is in its willingness to experiment and find new ways to help its students grow. During my first year on the Middle School campus I started up an investment club with just a handful of students meeting in my classroom at lunch on Thursdays. It was all rather informal. We spent the hour talking about stocks, the economy, or whether or not the latest Lakers trade made any sense (both dollars wise and sporting wise). I also would try to make it a point to discuss how people should be responsible with their wealth and the importance of those more fortunate to give back to their local communities. 

Within a few months the club expanded from 3-4 students to a dozen and then more. And over time, the buzz on campus continued to grow. By the winter of my second year, Chris Scarlataand the administration team realized that we had planted the seeds of something that could be much bigger than just a little lunchtime club. At that point Walt Steele and I wrote up a proposal for a formal finance class. We drafted a syllabus, and in 2016 we launched an elective called Investment, Finance & Entrepreneurship. This went alongside some of our other excellent options such as Photography, Kol Echad, Robotics, Spanish and many others. I’m proud to say that today the finance class is consistently the most popular elective class, with many students looking to take it multiple times during their time at the Middle School.

That was then, what about now? The Upper School has begun offering some finance classes too and the interest here is equally as strong. Over the past year Adam Steele and I have been collaborating together to create a full suite of course offerings for grades 6 to 12. I’m pleased to say that this upcoming school year our finance program will now include 2 different courses at the Middle School and up to 6 classes at the Upper School. Amazing.

Now I’m telling you this not to brag about the success of my teaching, although I would like to think that I am quite good at my craft, but to demonstrate how Milken is responsive to student needs and constantly searching for ways to better prepare your loved ones to succeed not only in college, but beyond. The school is always thinking about ways to provide the young men and women on our campus with the tools they need to be productive, responsible adults and what they can do to help the world, and those around us with less fortunate circumstances. One of the ways of doing so is being wise with their investments and being mindful of how to deploy their savings.

As mentioned, I am completing my 7th year at the school. So at this point some of the students in that informal Middle School investment club are now in college (that simple fact makes me feel even older than I already am!). It’s not an exaggeration to say that I receive emails and texts on a weekly basis from students and parents asking me questions about finance and the markets. For those of you who follow this, you probably know how volatile things have been over the past year and change. It can be summed up in one word… Dogecoin.

I’d like to share a couple of texts I received recently: “Do you think a crash is coming. I’m thinking of buying puts and shorting some of these stupidly inflated stocks. By the way, I was accepted to a club at my school called the Global Investment Society, which puts me on the path to becoming an analyst.” And here is one from a parent “Really enjoyed your piece on how to reform Higher Ed. Good luck with returning to campus. I was thinking of you as Julian and I were having breakfast today and he was telling me how much he liked learning something he can actually use in your class. Our omnipresent adolescent judges !!!”

This highlights another thing that makes Milken special. The word community is in our school’s name and we are constantly seeking ways to reach beyond those who spend 7:30-3:30 on our campus. We’ve been hearing from many parents that you too would be interested in furthering your knowledge of financial markets and investments and would like some support around these topics. So… we are exploring parent education opportunities and offering similar courses for the larger community. Stay tuned!

I trust that my story and the journey of our finance program gives you a 1st hand account of what makes Milken different and demonstrates how the school is willing to invest in its students, faculty and community. To be frank, they took a chance on me, a middle aged man, with some unique experiences and skills, as I was looking to become a 1st year teacher. Milken realized I could help the school in ways that more experienced teachers could not. The investment they made in me has strengthened my desire to help the school as I realize how valued I am here. I believe I am not unique in feeling this way. The growth of our finance program, and making it accessible to more students and their families, is but one example of that.