Avaneesh Siruvuri ’26 traces his passion for economics back to middle school, when his father opened an investment account to help him learn about money. “Through this experience of dealing with what felt like my own money, I began to gain a deep interest in understanding the fundamentals of our money system,” he explained. “I will never forget making my first dollar on a ten-dollar investment.”
That early curiosity has since grown into a commitment to expanding financial literacy among students in India and at Milton, a passion he recently discussed during an appearance on CNN-News18 (an independent Indian news network licensed by CNN International).
During trips to India to visit family, Avaneesh realized that many young people he met lacked access to financial education. “When I asked questions about the Indian economy or how banks work, I was often met with vague or non-specific answers,” he recalled. “It seemed to me that much of the financial decision-making was influenced by the media or outdated methods.” To help address that gap, he launched an economics discussion group that meets in person and online to explore interdisciplinary topics in economics and decision-making.
These discussion groups were loosely inspired by Milton’s Harkness Table conversations. Avaneesh shared that through his time around the Harkness Tables, he’s “learned how to ask meaningful questions, collaborate with my peers, and dive deep into the nuances of literature.” These conversations also inspired him to “apply this to our discussions on economics, not simply learning about the fundamentals, but actually applying them to our daily lives and introducing material from other subjects.”
That same passion has come to life in Ware Hall, where he’s developed a four-class financial literacy program for Milton’s Middle School. “As someone who went to [Milton’s] Middle School, I remembered learning about several life skills, such as study methods, basic psychology, and self-care in our 360 class. I felt that financial literacy was no different than any of these essential life skills,” he said. During his sophomore year, he worked with the Middle School administration to integrate a four-class curriculum that discusses fundamental concepts such as how to save and spend money and how banks work. He even helped launch an investment game, where students were given fake virtual money to invest in the stock market. Avaneesh shared that he hopes to continue this program and integrate it into the Middle School curriculum for the foreseeable future.
He has also shared his passion internationally by developing two programs in India: in-person workshops in schools, where he gives lecture-style presentations on fundamentals of economics, finance, and spending money; and an online discussion group that explores interdisciplinary topics in economics. Avaneesh believes that he and the participants “go beyond basic concepts and truly learn from each other.”
“Oftentimes this material doesn’t immediately correlate to economics, but the more we discuss, we find interdisciplinary connections to how we can better understand the decisions we make,” he explained. He describes the conversations as “a method of compound inquiry, namely a place where questions aren’t met with answers, but more questions, which allow us to gain deeper insights.”
Click here to watch Avaneesh’s full interview with CNN-News18.
