In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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