In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, 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 eternally thankful.
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