In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. And, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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