During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share 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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