INDIANAPOLIS — A local college student is getting in the Robinhood spirit after making some money investing in an unlikely hot stock.
"I sold it for $15,000, and the amount I had purchased was $3,000, so I came out with about $12,000. And it was like over two days; it was crazy," Aaron Schmid, a Carmel native in his second year of medical school at Marian University, said.
Schmid made that money investing in GameStop as the frenzy over the stock started to peak. He says he will spend some of it on debt and bills, but he's not keeping it all for himself.
"Someone else in the Wall Street Bets group on Reddit had donated to their local children's hospital, and when I saw that, I was like, 'That is amazing,'" Schmid said. "There is not a better way to spend money. They could use it so much more than I can right now."
To help local kids and continue to support GameStop, Schmid bought several Nintendo Switches and games for patients at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.
"It felt awesome. I mean just to pay it forward in some way. I don't know; there are just so many things I can do with the money," Schmid said of his earnings. "And like I don't know, I am going to reinvest some of it so I can have some of an income going so I can eat and live. Other than that, yeah, just to bring some joy to their lives in the middle of a pandemic."
Kaitlin Knapp with the Peyton Manning Children's Hospital says Schmid's donation will greatly impact patients.
Knapp explains that the games will help kids feel comfortable and socially connected since now they can play with their friends online while they're in the hospital.
"I think it speaks volumes too of Aaron's current status as a medical student. Just those new professionals giving back to the population that they want to work with, I think that is amazing. You know, it is a very selfless donation and a very great thing to hear, and I am so glad it worked out this way," Knapp said.
