In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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