During 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 exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that night. 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. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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