During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my prospective employer 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 declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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