During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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