In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He inquired 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 the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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