During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered 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 always appreciative.
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