In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building 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 fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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