In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Because my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an microscopy facility at the institution – right next door to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I should apply for a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Because he had gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but immediately explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she said: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for 36 months. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to complete a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and request employment. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Critically, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person set me on a different course in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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