During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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