During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at Columbia University. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where everything seems achievable – she responded: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
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-belief to reach out at an elite institution and ask for a job. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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