In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed 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 everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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