Simon Bestany took time to explore other places including Paris while attending Temple Rome. (Photo courtesy of Simon Bestany)
Name: Simon Bestany
Major: Economics
Hometown: Malvern, PA
Economics major Simon Bestany credits Temple University with opening doors to people and places that have become the pillars to building his academic journey.
“I had never traveled outside of the country, nor had I ever been on an airplane before going to Ecuador the summer after my freshman year,” the class of 2024 graduate says.
Through Temple’s Newman Center, a spiritual center for the university community, he spent time serving the poor and helping to construct a chapel in a small Ecuadorian village.
“This trip helped me step outside of my comfort zone and opened me up to traveling, ultimately leading me to explore other international opportunities through Temple.”
“I had never traveled outside of the country, nor had I ever been on an airplane before going to Ecuador the summer after my freshman year.”
Bestany also made the most of a week-long global immersion trip to Rome and Milan, not only learning about Italy’s culture and history, but also about how business operates in a foreign country.
“The highlight of the trip was traveling to Parma, the place where authentic Parmesan cheese is made, and learning about the business of cheese production,” Bestany shares.
The travel bug didn’t stop there. He then spent the fall semester of his senior year studying at the university’s Temple Rome campus.
“Living two blocks away from Vatican City, in an apartment with six other roommates, I had the opportunity to live like a local,” he says. “Rome was also the perfect launching point to travel all over the continent. I visited the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria and Hungary.”
Simon volunteering in Ecuador through Temple’s Newman Center. He helped construct a chapel for the village.
Photo courtesy of Simon Bestany
While these global experiences will forever be unforgettable memories for Bestany, he also found great opportunities at Main Campus that helped develop and form his passion for business.
Bestany is one of several Fox School of Business students who became part of the Owl Fund, an opportunity to gain hands-on, real-world experience managing capital and following markets.
It was through his leadership roles (director of finance, vice president and ultimately, president) with the Temple Economics Society that led him to attend the National Association for Business Economics Conference in Washington, D.C.
Attending this conference remains one of Bestany’s most unique Temple memories. He had the opportunity to meet Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powel and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen.
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“As an economics student and Temple Owl Fund member, there is no one I wanted to meet more than the leaders of our financial system,” Bestany says.
“My grandfather first introduced me to finance in middle school by cutting out articles from the Wall Street Journal for me to read. He would quiz me on what was going on in the markets.
“While my grandfather spent his career in accounting, his knowledge of the financial markets and current events inspired me to study economics to build on what he had taught me.”
And build Bestany did. He spent his time at Temple building an enriching academic career that led him to financial and cultural worlds both near and far.