In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
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 proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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