In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the university – right next door to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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