During the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a low-cost journey to Europe with a travel partner. Since my companion was interested in enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the graduate housing, a large 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I shared that I had newly finished with a science degree and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the school of engineering, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He recommended that I ought to seek a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, telling him that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The engineering student walked over to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the head of the electron microscope unit at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away told my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where opportunities abound – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I missed my plane to London.
I was employed there for three years. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I seized the chance to earn a graduate degree in global studies.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in numerous aspects. I would never have had the bravery or nerve to contact anyone at an prestigious college and ask for a job. Additionally, I had always wanted to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York resulted in a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That benevolent individual set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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