In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and let me know that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I would never have had the bravery or self-assurance to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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