In 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 pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “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 got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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