During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she responded: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or nerve to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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