During the late 1980s, I set out on a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was interested in starting a postgraduate program in NYC, we had booked a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the postgrad residence, a big 10-storey building on the UWS known as International House. Setting down our luggage, we made our way to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq pursuing an engineering degree at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments involving microscopic analysis.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close 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, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that night. The Iraqi student came up to me and let me know that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
Reflecting the city's spirit – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I was employed there for three years. A perk of the job was that I got free tuition at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
I never saw that student again and I can't recall his name, but his incredible act of kindness altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the confidence or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. And, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but lacked the financial means without that free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that job in New York paved the way for a role in Europe where I encountered my wonderful partner, with whom I currently share 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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