In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, 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 my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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