During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I consider applying for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away explained to my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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