During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The engineering student approached me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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