During the late 1980s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at Columbia University. He asked me what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where opportunities abound – she declared: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to approach someone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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