During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed 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 interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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