During the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a job with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that after dark. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I showed up for the discussion – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had always wanted to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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