Almost 60 years later, Memorial High School graduate Warren Boroson can still recall the names of his “remarkable” Latin and English teachers – Alice Luckins and Eileen O’Connor. The names of these teachers slip off his tongue as easily as the investment terms he’s used prolifically in his long career as a financial journalist.
The art of investing is one that Boroson knows well, one that he appreciates. After investing so much of his life in lucrative finance writing, penning over 20 books and innumerable articles and columns, Boroson has, in recent years, put his stock in his a new career – teaching music history at local community colleges.
Boroson has written over 20 books.
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A look back at MHS
Boroson grew up on Boulevard East in West New York, back when the town was comprised of embroidery factories and Irish Catholic, German, and Italian residents.
He first attended P.S. No. 6 and then Memorial High School. At that time, he said, there were two graduations, January and June, and he graduated in January of 1952.
“[My class] was a remarkable class, and Memorial High School at the time was a remarkable school,” he said.
Of the 100 students in his “gifted” graduating class, several, Boroson said, went on to admirable careers, such as a classmate who went on to teach at Tufts University.
He attributed some of his classs success to their “remarkably good teachers,” whom he believes may have been extraordinarily well-qualified because they had been hired during the Depression, when bright professionals might have difficulty finding other jobs.
After graduating, Boroson went on to Columbia University, where he intended to pursue education. Instead, prior to his college graduation, he decided he wanted to write, thus setting his career in journalism in motion.
Changes
Five years ago, Boroson attended his high school reunion, but not before speaking to the current principal to learn how his high school had changed over the years.
“When I go back now, I see everything has shrunk,” he said, referring to how everything seems so much larger as a child.
One thing had not shrunk, according to that principal: MHS’s reputation.
Financial know-how
After Colombia, Boroson began writing for newspapers such as the Bergen Record, and then started writing for magazines.
But at one point, the only work he could find in his field was financial writing. Eventually he joined the staff of Money Magazine, and quickly realized that writing about money made him good money.
Investing himself fully in financial writing, he took courses and wrote articles in New York Times Magazine, Woman’s Day, Reader’s Digest, Family Circle, TV Guide, Consumer Reports, Better Homes and Gardens, and elsewhere.
Throughout his career, Boroson has written over 20 books, including “How to Pick Stocks like Warren Buffett” and “Keys to Investing in Mutual Funds.”
He has won the top business news-writing award from Rutgers/CIT, the Investment Company Institute/American University personal finance writing award, and the New Jersey Press Association’s top business writing award.
Boroson has also imparted his knowledge to students at New School University, Farleigh Dickinson, Ramapo College, Rutgers University, and other New Jersey colleges.
Pursuing his love
After leaving the Record a few years ago, Boroson pushed his love for teaching and music to the forefront of his life. About four years ago, he began teaching a course on famous opera singers of the past, and although it takes a lot of time, he said it’s worth it.
“Now I don’t need the money and I can just enjoy myself,” he said. “I plan on [teaching] for the rest of my life.”
He hasn’t left financial writing behind, though, with a financial column for www.newjerseynewsroom.com. And he plans to write another book on the topic of investing.
But now he has more free time to devote to his hobbies, such as the movie and music club Hobbyists Unlimited in Ridgewood.
Boroson recognizes that investing today is more difficult than during his heyday. But the investment of passion, Boroson proves, doesn’t just accumulate wealth. It accumulates respect.