In the final years of the 1980s, I was embarking on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a travel partner. Because my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS named International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the canteen, where we picked up meals, sat down, and began chatting with other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an individual of Iraqi origin enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I explained that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted 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 proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I didn’t have a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, returning to the canteen that after dark. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know 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 immediately told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
As is common in NYC – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I am unaware of his name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a role in Europe where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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