During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Adjacent to my seat was an gentleman from Iraq enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, going back to the cafeteria 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” 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 free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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