In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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