During the late 1980s, I was embarking on a low-cost journey to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was interested in pursuing a master’s degree in the Big Apple, we had booked a fortnight visit there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a sizeable 10-storey building on the Manhattan's Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we went directly to the canteen, where we got some food, took a seat, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at an Ivy League institution. He inquired what I did for a living, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been working on studies using an electron microscope.
He mentioned that there was an electron microscope unit at the institution – right next door to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I should apply for a position with them. I laughed it off, saying that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I didn’t have a US visa.
The following day I ventured out, going back to the cafeteria that night. The engineering student came up to me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my host that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was unable to accept the role.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she declared: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I missed my plane to London.
I held that position for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a postgrad program in international relations.
I lost touch with him and I can't recall his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-belief to approach someone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that educational benefit.
Perhaps most importantly, that role at the university paved the way for a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger set me on a different course in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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