During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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