In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a large multi-story edifice on the UWS known as International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the canteen, where we got some food, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – right next door to the engineering department, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The man from Iraq approached me and told me that he had set up a meeting for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a position in Switzerland where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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