During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had set up a meeting 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 informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university led me to a position in Switzerland where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four wonderful sons and daughters. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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