During the closing decade of the 80s, I was embarking on a backpacking trip to the European continent with a friend. Since my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in New York, we had planned a two-week stay there before heading to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side known as International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the dining hall, where we grabbed food, sat down, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an individual of Iraqi origin studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I did for a living, and I shared that I had newly finished with a degree in science and had been conducting research using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the institution – close to the engineering faculty, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I ought to seek a position with them. I laughed it off, telling him that I was about to fly to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
The next day I went out exploring, coming back to the dining hall that evening. The Iraqi student came up to me and informed me that he had organized a discussion for me with the director of the microscopy lab at Columbia. Because he had made the arrangement, I attended the interview – but right away explained to my interviewer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where anything feels possible – she said: “We'll handle it. How soon can you begin?” 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.
We didn't cross paths after that and I don’t even know his name, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in numerous aspects. I didn't possess the courage or nerve to contact anyone at an Ivy League university and seek a position. Moreover, I had always wanted to study abroad, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I now have four amazing children. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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