During the late 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Because my companion was considering enrolling in graduate studies in the Big Apple, we had arranged a 14-day stopover there on the way to London.
We got to the student accommodation, a large 10-storey building on the Upper West Side named International House. Once we unpacked, we headed straight to the dining hall, where we got some food, took a seat, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Beside me was an gentleman from Iraq studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He inquired what I my profession was, and I explained that I had recently completed my studies with a scientific background and had been performing experiments with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – right next door to the engineering department, 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, additionally, I didn’t have a US visa.
The next day I toured the city, coming back to the dining hall that after dark. The Iraqi student approached me and informed me that he had arranged an interview for me with the leader of the research team at Columbia. Since he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but straight off informed my prospective employer that I was without a work permit, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a city where opportunities abound – she responded: “That can be arranged. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for 36 months. One of the benefits was that I was granted no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to complete a postgrad program in international relations.
I never saw that student again and I don’t even know his identity, but his remarkable generosity transformed my future in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to reach out at an prestigious college 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 free tuition.
Perhaps most importantly, that gig at Columbia paved the way for a position in Switzerland where I got to know my handsome spouse from France, with whom I currently share a family of four kids. This was a pivotal life event. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m forever grateful.
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