During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was considering starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had arranged a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and began chatting with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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