In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS called International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The man from Iraq approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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