In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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