During the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a big multi-story edifice on the Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly 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 pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I should apply for a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
The following day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The Iraqi student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion 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 informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “That can be arranged. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his identity, but his selfless gesture transformed my future in numerous aspects. I lacked the confidence or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that gig at Columbia led me to a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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