In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview 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 explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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