In the final years of the 1980s, I was beginning a backpacking trip to Europe with a companion. Since my travel mate was considering pursuing a master’s degree in New York, we had booked a 14-day stopover there en route to London.
We reached the postgrad residence, a big ten-floor structure on the UWS known as International House. After dropping our bags, we headed straight to the cafeteria, where we got some food, found a table, and started talking to fellow residents.
Sitting next to me was an Iraqi man enrolled in an engineering program at Columbia University. He wanted to know what I did, and I explained that I had just graduated with a science degree and had been performing experiments using an electron microscope.
He pointed out that there was an electron microscope unit at Columbia University – close to the school of engineering, which was how he knew about it. He recommended that I consider applying for a position with them. I chuckled at the suggestion, saying that I was heading off to Europe and, more critically, I lacked a US visa.
A day later I ventured out, coming back to the dining hall 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. Because he had taken the effort, I attended the interview – but right away informed my prospective employer that I lacked the necessary visa, so I was probably wasting her time.
As is common in NYC – a metropolis where everything seems achievable – she said: “We'll handle it. When can you start?” I never got on that flight to London.
I held that position for a trio of years. A perk of the job was that I was granted complimentary education at Columbia, and I took advantage to earn a master’s of international affairs.
We didn't cross paths after that and I can't recall his identity, but his remarkable generosity altered my destiny in multiple respects. I lacked the confidence or self-assurance to approach someone at an prestigious college and request employment. Moreover, I had always wanted to pursue education overseas, but could never have afforded it without that tuition waiver.
Critically, that role at the university paved the way for a job in Zurich where I got to know my wonderful partner, with whom I now have a family of four kids. That encounter altered everything. That kind stranger changed my trajectory in life, and I’m eternally thankful.
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