In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my travel mate was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We arrived at the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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