During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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