In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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