In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance 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 selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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