In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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