During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq 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. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education 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 identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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