During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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