In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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