During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the 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.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know 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 with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi 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. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis 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 got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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