During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the canteen, where we grabbed food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He inquired what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but straight off informed my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
As is common in NYC – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that role at the university resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share four amazing children. 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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