In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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