In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq came up to 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 taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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