In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Because my travel mate was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in NYC, we had booked a 14-day stopover there before heading to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a large ten-floor structure on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the cafeteria, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He asked me what I did for a living, and I told him that I had just graduated with a degree in science and had been conducting research involving microscopic analysis.
He noted that there was an research lab at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I consider applying for a role with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, going back to the cafeteria that night. The Iraqi student walked over to me and told 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 showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my interviewer that I didn’t have a visa, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I also received free tuition at Columbia, and I seized the chance to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his name, but his selfless gesture changed my life in so many ways. I lacked the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and ask for a job. Moreover, I had consistently hoped to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that educational benefit.
What's more, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That helpful person changed my trajectory in life, and I’m always appreciative.
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