In the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my travel mate was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a sizeable 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at an Ivy League institution. He asked me what I did, and I told him that I had newly finished with a scientific background and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an microscopy facility at Columbia University – right next door to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a job with them. I laughed it off, explaining that I was heading off to Europe and, additionally, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, returning to the canteen that evening. The engineering student came up to me and told me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a place where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. An advantage of the role was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to complete a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that 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-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and ask for a job. Moreover, I had long dreamed to pursue education overseas, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia led me to a role in Europe where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share four amazing children. That encounter altered everything. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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