During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had arranged a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted 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 consider applying for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to reach out at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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