During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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