During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student 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. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York 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 redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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