Paving His Own Path, On and Off the Field

Growing up in West Orange, New Jersey, Matthew Waldman ’02CC hoped he would follow in his family’s footsteps to the University of Pennsylvania, where his father and older brother were graduates.

A baseball recruiting trip to Columbia changed his mind.

“I had a feeling that Columbia was the place for me and decided to pave a new path,” he said.

It turned out to be the right choice. On the field, Matthew was a left-handed pitcher and four-year starter for the Lions baseball team. During his senior year, he went 4-1 in the Ivy League and was named Second Team All-Ivy as well as First Team Jewish All-American.

One highlight of that year was striking out Ron DeSantis (then a student at Yale and today the governor of Florida), ending his seven-game hitting streak.

Through baseball, he forged strong and lasting friendships with his teammates and fraternity brothers at Zeta Beta Tau. 

Off the field, he was fully engaged in Columbia College’s Core Curriculum. “I credit the Core for teaching me how to write and pushing me outside of my intellectual comfort zone,” he said. “It pushed me to think critically and view the world with greater perspective.”

The day after graduation, Matthew flew to Stockholm, Sweden, to play professional baseball in the Swedish Elite series for the Rattvik Butchers. After his team won the Swedish Championship, he hung up his spikes, returned home and began his career in finance at a New York City-based hedge fund specializing in distressed debt.

After six years as director of acquisitions, Matthew transitioned to the world of personal wealth management. Today, he is the Managing Director of Wealth Planning for Wealth Preservation Solutions based in Paramus, New Jersey.

Matthew lives in nearby Cedar Grove with his wife and high school sweetheart, Alyson, and their 10-year-old son, Archer, who shares his passion for baseball. 

Matthew serves as a board member and Treasurer for the Columbia University Club of New Jersey. 

“Columbia is important to me and my family and will always have a place in my heart,” he said.

In the years since graduation, Matthew has made regular annual contributions to Athletics for the baseball program. More recently, he decided to create a larger legacy by joining the 1754 Society and making Columbia a beneficiary of a life insurance policy and he designated this, too, for the baseball program. 

“It’s really satisfying to know that my gift can be even a small part of continuing the legacy of this great institution,” he said. “Attending Columbia was a tipping point in my life, and the path I’m on today is largely due to my experience in Morningside Heights. I’m glad to have made a charitable contribution to an institution that is so closely tied to my identity.”