During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but immediately informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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