In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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