During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for three years. A perk of the job was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I now have 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 always appreciative.
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