In the late 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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