During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying 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 engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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