During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview 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 explained to my interviewer 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: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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