In the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a companion. Since my friend was exploring pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. Once we unpacked, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to people eating there.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the engineering faculty, which was why he was aware of it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that evening. The engineering student approached me and informed me that he had set up a meeting 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 interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I was employed there for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his full name, but his incredible act of kindness transformed my future in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to reach out at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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