During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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