In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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