During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a companion. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had planned a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – close to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq came up to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my prospective employer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia resulted in a role in Europe where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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