In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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