During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had planned a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and began chatting with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – close to the school of engineering, which was why he was aware of it. He recommended that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and told me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately told my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I also received complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
What's more, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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