In the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my companion was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received 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 can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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