During the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was exploring enrolling in graduate studies in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we got some food, found a table, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He pointed out 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 recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
We didn't cross paths after that and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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