In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the courage or self-belief to reach out at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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