In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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