During the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to Europe with a travel partner. Since my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I didn't possess the confidence or nerve to reach out at an Ivy League university and request employment. Additionally, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a role in Europe where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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