During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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