In the closing decade of the 80s, I set out on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a companion. Since my companion was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a fortnight visit there en route to London.
We reached the student accommodation, a sizeable ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we picked up meals, sat down, and started talking to other diners.
Adjacent to my seat was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a degree in science and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He noted that there was an research lab at the institution – adjacent to the engineering faculty, which was how he knew about it. He suggested that I ought to seek a role with them. I dismissed the idea, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I ventured out, returning to the canteen that after dark. The man from Iraq 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 gone to the trouble, I attended the interview – but right away told my host that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I didn't board the aircraft to London.
I worked there for three years. One of the benefits was that I got no-cost classes at Columbia, and I used the opportunity to finish a master’s of international affairs.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity changed my life in so many ways. I didn't possess the bravery or self-assurance to approach someone at an elite institution and request employment. Moreover, I had long dreamed to take classes in another country, but wouldn't have been able to pay for it without that free tuition.
Critically, that job in New York led me to a role in Europe where I met my handsome spouse from France, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That helpful person redirected my path in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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