During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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