In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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