During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student walked over to 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 went to the meeting – but immediately informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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