During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but right away informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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