In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student approached 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 gone to the trouble, 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.
In typical New York fashion – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane 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 seized the chance to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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