During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know 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 attended the interview – but immediately explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of 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 lost touch with him and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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