During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his full name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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