In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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