In the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to Europe with a friend. Since my friend was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there en route to London.
We reached the graduate housing, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side named International House. After dropping our bags, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man pursuing an engineering degree at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – close to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He proposed that I should apply for a job with them. I dismissed the idea, saying that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that night. The engineering student approached me and let me know that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I went to the meeting – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she responded: “We can make that happen. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for three years. One of the benefits was that I got complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his full name, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. And, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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