During the final years of the 1980s, I set out on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend. Because my friend was exploring starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had planned a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with people eating there.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He proposed that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, 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. Since he had taken the effort, I went to the meeting – but straight off told my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. An advantage of the role was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the courage or self-assurance to contact anyone at an prestigious college and seek a position. And, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university resulted in a job in Zurich where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four wonderful sons and daughters. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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