In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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