In the late 1980s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my friend was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there on the way to London.
We arrived at the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we grabbed food, sat down, and started talking to fellow residents.
Beside me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I told him that I had just graduated with a scientific background and had been working on studies involving microscopic analysis.
He mentioned that there was an research lab at Columbia University – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He proposed that I consider applying for a position with them. I dismissed the idea, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, additionally, I did not possess a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, returning to the canteen that evening. The man from Iraq walked over to me and informed me that he had set up a meeting for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Given that he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off explained to my interviewer that I was without a work permit, so I was likely not a suitable candidate.
In typical New York fashion – a place where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. What's your start date?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his full name, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in multiple respects. I would never have had the confidence or self-assurance to contact anyone at an elite institution and seek a position. Moreover, I had long dreamed to study abroad, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a job in Zurich where I encountered my handsome spouse from France, with whom I now have a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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