In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
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 suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later 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 attended the interview – but immediately told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role 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 don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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