If you are travelling on I-95, or possibly any other other highway across the country, you may think you’ve come across Westwood graduate, Alex Simon. Guess what? You’re seeing clearly.

Coming from a small town, Simon never thought of himself as someone who would end up on a billboard. Simon did not even have any idea that he was on a billboard until people started reaching out to him via text message.

Now, a graduate from Rider, Simon can be found on 12-15 different billboards across the United States, representing Rider on Wall Street. To Simon, seeing the billboard was that “ah-ha!” moment that everyone hopes for. “This was a realization that, ‘wow’ what I am doing is the right path,” said Simon. Wall Street is known for significant amounts of money, as well as one of the top contributors to the world’s economy. Simon said it is “humbling” to be apart of something like Wall Street. There is a lot of meaning for Wall Street and it certainly is not overlooked. “It is exciting to be a success story, and is extremely motivating to that person on the board,” he said.

Simon graduated from Rider almost a year early, completing his time there with three majors. He feels he was often doubted but proved others wrong and himself right. Simon got accepted to Rider, his dream school, during his senior year. Originally denied, willing to work hard and go after what he wanted, Simon reached out to Rider and scheduled an interview. Later that week, Simon was notified that he was accepted.

Heading into Rider, Simon was going in with the idea to study business, but went undeclared. “I always wanted to wear a suit and I knew that was what I wanted to do,” said Simon. After taking many different business classes, economics stuck with Simon and he thought he could see himself doing that.

The first time Simon travelled out of the US, the experience completely changed his thoughts on what he wanted to study. He headed to Israel which made him decide to take the more international side of business. Simon then added on international business to his studies. Following Israel, Simon travelled to China for three weeks, where he learned about monetary policies, and China’s laws against their money. With this, he learned he was intrigued by global policy. By his sophomore year, Simon was studying in international business, business economics, and global national studies.

After working diligently for just a little over three years, Simon headed to Wall Street. He was told he would not be able to graduate in less than five years, let alone three. He completed his three and a half years at Rider with an internship with Mercedes Benz. Simon also studied abroad in Australia, working between four and five part time jobs to learn about Australia’s policies.

Since graduating, Simon has worked with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management as a Database Manager and Business Analyst and for Deutsche Bank as a Business Manager for COO of Fixed Incomes. Currently Simon is working as a Business Manager for Private Banking at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.

Alongside working hard on Wall Street, Simon will be releasing his own travel app, “Elude”, in May 2016. The mobile app will provide people assistance in travelling, using websites such as Kayak, to gather the cheapest way to afford a weekend trip to the caribbean, or a month in Europe. The app finds trips based on your budget and time frame, and the best part; there is no destination required, it will find the best one for you.

Travelling is a strong passion of Simon’s. “It’s like a rush drug.” He has travelled to London, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and Hong-Kong to name a few, and most recently went on a Europe tour with his twin brother. He says that as amazing as it is to work on Wall Street, a long term career goal on a more passionate level for Simon would be to develop his mobile app, Elude. He would like to be able to help people’s lives when travelling. Simon is a strong advocate when it comes to travelling. He says that being international gives you the chance to see what is out there. “It will give you the best experience you could ask for and completely change your view on everything.”