In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged 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 known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed 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 went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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