In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the university – close to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I showed up for the discussion – but right away explained to my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I am unaware of his name, but his incredible act of kindness changed my life in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. And, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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