During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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