In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my companion was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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