In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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