In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Because my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I ought to seek a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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