In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but immediately told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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