In the closing decade of the 80s, I was beginning a budget travel adventure to the European continent with a friend. Because my travel mate was interested in starting a postgraduate program in the Big Apple, we had booked a two-week stay there en route to London.
We arrived at the graduate housing, a big multi-story edifice on the Manhattan's Upper West Side called International House. After dropping our bags, we went directly to the canteen, where we picked up meals, found a table, and engaged in conversation with other diners.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man studying engineering at a prestigious New York university. He wanted to know what I did for a living, and I shared that I had recently completed my studies with a science degree and had been working on studies with electron microscopy.
He pointed out that there was an research lab at the university – adjacent to the engineering department, which was the reason he was familiar with it. He suggested that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, explaining that I was soon departing to Europe and, even more importantly, I lacked a US visa.
The following day I toured the city, 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 gone to the trouble, I showed up for the discussion – but right away informed my host that I didn’t have a visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
In typical New York fashion – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she declared: “We can make that happen. How soon can you begin?” I never got on that flight to London.
I worked there for three years. An advantage of the role was that I also received no-cost classes at Columbia, and I took advantage to finish a graduate degree in global studies.
I lost touch with him and I don’t even know his identity, but his selfless gesture altered my destiny in so many ways. I lacked the bravery or self-belief to contact anyone at an elite institution and request employment. Additionally, I had consistently hoped to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
What's more, that role at the university led me to a job in Zurich where I met my wonderful partner, with whom I am raising a family of four kids. It was a total sliding doors moment. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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