During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes 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 incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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